


Stream of Kindness

by CaptainL95



Category: Gensou Suikogaiden, Suikoden, Suikoden I, Suikoden II, Suikoden III, Suikoden Tierkreis
Genre: Gen, Omorashi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-12-01 21:35:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 33,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20905868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainL95/pseuds/CaptainL95
Summary: By pure law of averages, every time a new 108 Stars of Destiny gather, there's always at least one untold story of a bathroom emergency, some with better endings than others.





	1. Golden Moon Empire

Moravia, the castle stronghold commanded by Kasim Hazil, one of the Scarlet Moon Empire's Five Great Generals. With the Imperial military stationed in the fortress, most would not dare attack the palace, much less a Liberation Army barely fifteen-thousand strong. The fact that a team of six were doing just that was insane, that was the only way to put it. No one would believe this army had a strategist, or if they did, they would certainly object to the notion that this was his idea.

However, the plan was a lot more complicated than that. Yes, they wanted to dethrone Kasim, reduce the power of the Empire and potentially recruit another powerful leader, but that wasn't the only objective. The Liberation Army's strategist, Mathiu, was distracting Kasim, while a team of six would fight their way to the prison to rescue one of the army's most valued assets, Viktor.

And if anyone could penetrate this fortification, it would be these six. Valeria, former lieutenant of the Empire, her skill with the Falcon style sword unmatched. Camille, fiery redhead with a fiery lance thanks to an attached elemental rune piece, it was unwise to owe her a debt. Krin, low class thief with a penchant for poisons. Cleo, longtime guardian of the McDohl household, and her charge, Tir McDohl. Son of another of the Five Generals, Teo McDohl, Tir had already been named leader of the Liberation Army, his natural charisma and propensity for justice earning scores of followers. He was strong, intelligent, moral, and quite cute.

That last observation colored the face of the last member of the entourage as red as her limited clothing. She was Kasumi, a young black-haired ninja hailing from the village of Rokkaku, dedicated to ending the reign of Emperor Barbarossa through the victory of the Liberation Army. To her credit, Kasumi was putting her all into this contract, but it wasn't just because of training. She...wanted to do good by Tir, he was a good man and she wanted to be by his side, be it bodyguard or something more. That was the honor and strength all proper ninjas lived by.

However, that stalwart obedience came with a downside. Kasumi and Tir had been separated recently, as she had her own mission with Krin, with the two only just reuniting before this undertaking. She would not leave his side...even if she really wanted to now. Thing was, in her desire to act out her role as guardian, Kasumi had found herself on the receiving end of hydration making its way down south. Sheepishly, she lightly gripped the sides of the cloth covering her lower front for comfort and support.

It was pretty awkward to admit that she had let herself reach this level. She was trained, she was experienced, it's not like she had no practice in holding her bladder. It wouldn't do much good for a suspicious trail of liquid to trickle down from the rafters onto the espionage subjects, impeccable control was an important qualification for the job. Which made it only more concerning that it was painful enough to be worrying. She was in a bad spot, no other way to say it.

"Kasumi. Kasumi!" Her name being called out brought the ninja back to the moment, as she only now recognized Tir snapping his fingers inches from her face. And her blush, which had since faded and cooled, had its glow reignited at the proximity. Years of reflex and self-defense training took hold as she jumped back and placed a hand on one of her many kunai, poised for attack. It took until now for her to notice the other four looking at her weirdly. "Good, you're back," Tir continued unflinchingly, "we're heading up the tower now."

"Y-yes, Master Tir," she blurted, releasing the hold on her weapon to stand straight. "I'm ready, I won't hold you up!"

Observing the interaction, Krin covered his mouth and snickered. "Look at you, acting all proper around the boy. Can't help but wonder why," he asked, stretched out, leaning in towards Kasumi.

She wasn't taking it, as she smacked him away. "You can shut your mouth." There was only so much politeness to go around, especially with most of it going towards Tir. Not to mention, the lacking mental faculties at the moment to spare on manners. Talking wasn't needed anyway, everyone had their serious faces on with weapons tightly gripped, it was time for action. Whether it would serve as a welcome distraction or an unpleasant exertion, only time would tell.

The six-person party marched up the stairs to the second floor of the stone building, Kasumi taking one last look back. She couldn't imagine actually doing it, but she had thought about asking for a quick break to run outside and "tend to the castle's gardens". Regardless of whether she would have worked up the courage to speak up, the opportunity had passed her by.

As they ascended, each step sending a tiny jolt straight through the desperate ninja, she reflected on how she ended up needing to relieve herself this badly. Granted, there wasn't much to consider, it was a simple tale of lacking time management. She was busy, not alone, there was no chance to duck away to take care of business. Even when she returned to the castle serving as the Liberation Army's headquarters, it was so big, and she was new, the bathroom was too hard to find before she was called out again. There was no time to go off the side of the boat on the way there, either. She needed to hope she'd be given another chance soon, or that this wouldn't take forever and she could endure. After all, they did need to act fast before their presence was reported, she could get lucky and hold out, it was possible.

But it wouldn't be easy, as guards were waiting for them at the top of the stairs. Two elite soldiers, a whip master, and three hell hounds, a full six on six match. Weapons were drawn on both sides as the combatants got into position, Tir, Camille, and Valeria taking the front line. "You may want to consider targeting the whip master in the back first," Valeria offered, experience behind her words.

The problem was, Kasumi wasn't paying attention, she needed to pee too bad and wanted everything to hurry up. All that was running through her head was how to finish this fight as quickly as possible, so they could get out of here before it was too late for her. As the fastest member of the group, she activated her Shrike Rune and dashed forward. Slipping between two of the hell hounds, she circled behind a guard in the back corner before he could process what was happening, thrust her arms beneath his armpits, brought her forearms up to bind him, and jumped straight up.

While rune powers were varied, usually magic based, there were physical runes as well. That was where the Shrike Rune fit in, its power granted Kasumi the ability to perform a devastating suplex, a stone-shattering slam from high in the air. With the soldier in her grasp, the ninja flipped mid-flight, and began rocketing back to the floor, crashing his head with an echoing blast while she remained safely suspended from his torso. Displaying the same speed she used initiating the move, she jumped back into formation, letting his body fall flat.

The instant her feet hit the floor, Kasumi regretted performing that super move. The hard impact, while not nearly as hard on her as it was on the soldier, still had quite the powerful adverse effect. She had been concerned about the waves steps were making, a fierce landing created a tsunami in comparison. She felt it so hard she could picture it, easy enough with a mental image identical to the attack she just performed, just replacing the guard with an ocean of pee and the floor with her bladder's borders. Her knees buckled at the blow, and her eyes widened as she choked back a breath. Most would have their accident right there, yet Kasumi showcased her inner strength and remained totally dry. Somehow, she knew that wouldn't last.

Still, she felt satisfied that she had delivered such a strong opening, breaking through her haze of desperate discomfort, until the single image that could bring her down played out before her; the guard got back up on his feet. She gulped, a bead of sweat sliding down her cheek. "He must have an amazing helmet," she breathlessly observed, in a sort of awe. She stepped back in slight fear, more for her own well-being than anything about their foes.

Though the opponents were also worth her attention. Her reckless charge had thrown everyone else off-balance, giving the whip master the chance to swing his lash, siccing the hell hounds out. One leapt at Camille, who attempted to hold it off with her spear, while another jumped at Tir, who defended much less successfully. And the third, despite Valeria also being within easy reach in the front row, was coming straight for Kasumi. "Agh!" She froze, faced with a threat she was not expecting, without any viable means of fending the canine off.

"Kasumi!" Once more, her name being called brought her into the moment, where she saw the dog immediately before her face, but not approaching. And she saw how that was possible, in the hell hound's mouth was a staff, biting down, unable to attack. She recognized the weapon as Tir's, so the real surprise was Tir himself. He was straining to reach the staff in front of Kasumi, his battle-worn clothes further ripped, bleeding from his own continuing attack, yet his focus was still on protecting someone else. He had a fire and fury in his eyes as he swung his staff, flinging the canine off and sending it flying back to its crowd, at the same time the others relented their assaults.

Cleo skillfully threw her Air Sword at the whip master, taking him down, while Krin threw a needle to defeat the elite soldier Kasumi attacked, which meant he was so close to death already. Tir spun his staff and whacked a hell hound on the head with an electrically charged hit, which Camille followed up with a flaming jab, enough to pacify it. Finally, Valeria used her Falcon Rune to unleash a flurry of stabs on the other elite soldier, eliminating him as well. That just left two hounds without their master.

Kasumi's next turn was up, she hesitated given her previous failure, but it would be pretty difficult to mess up this time. She definitely wasn't trying another usage of the Shrike Rune, so she simply jumped in and slashed one of the dogs, which Tir followed up with another killing bash. Without any direction, the final hell hound didn't attack, and with four warriors solely on his tail, it didn't last long and the fight was done.

Kasumi breathed a sigh of relief that the struggle was over, until Camille marched into her face, a good head taller. "So why did you rush in, without any solid strategy, while Valeria was talking?"

Camille was a tough lady, being on her bad side was enough to make even a trained ninja nervous. Either to avoid the question, or just different priorities, she responded with an unrelated question of her own. "Master Tir! Is Master Tir alright?!"

Camille moved aside, allowing Kasumi to see Tir sitting on the ground, clutching his injured arm. However, Cleo was standing next to him, channeling her Flowing Rune, Kasumi was afraid she'd be following the name's lead soon enough. As the light of the divination faded, rain began falling from no discernible origin, the last thing the ninja wanted to see at the moment. As the drops landed on Tir's body and slid across his gashes, the crimson blood washing away, revealing perfectly mended skin. No worse for wear, Tir stood up as if nothing happened. "Thank you, Cleo."

Kasumi should have been happy that he was safe, and she was, but something was more gripping and demanding at the moment: the lingering puddle, evidence of the water magic that had just been cast. Oh, how much she wanted to double, triple its size. The image of the still fluids was tempting, enough to force another violent punch from her tortured bladder, one she was not properly prepared for. If she wanted to avoid an accident, she had to at least press against her crotch now.

In a stroke of unfiltered, pure luck, she'd be doing that anyway as part of a different motion. With her hands clasped together on the skirt-like strip hanging from her waist, and secretly applying force, she bowed repeatedly to the boy no older than her. "I-I apologize profusely, Master Tir. It's a great shame for a bodyguard to require protection, and I understand if you wish to dismiss my services."

Unable to look as an equal, Kasumi only heard footsteps without an origin, until they stopped and a hand was gingerly placed on her shoulder. "No need to be so hard on yourself. It was a mistake, nothing major, no big deal. I still respect your skill." The praise gave Kasumi the strength to look up, and see Tir's face directly before hers, beaming with a youthful smile.

He was being nice to her, and she appreciated it, but the proximity was more obvious. Once more, her face flushed bright red, it might as well be her default color. Her open mouth was quivering and shivering, unable to form words, pupils darting for a solid ten seconds. Eventually, her brain flatlined into one single thought she could concentrate on. "Agh," she shouted, leaping back to maintain distance from Tir. That reaction confused him, it confused everyone, Krin made a circling motion with his finger to say she was crazy.

They all shrugged it off, however, and regrouped to continue the task. Kasumi took a second longer to compose herself, and realized something important. "I need to stop jumping around so much." Sudden motion like that just kept agitating her, sloshing and shaking her collection of urine, priming pressure and pain on her muscles. No one was looking this time, she took full advantage and outright grabbed between her legs, stroking her thighs against each other and grunting in the struggle.

It paid off, the wave passed, and she could stand up normally again. Cautiously, she resumed walking so as to not stray too far from the pack, while not straining herself. She needed to act inconspicuous, which would be easier if the other five weren't trying to hold a distracting conversation. "How do you think that bear Viktor will react to us infiltrating a castle to save him," Valeria asked.

"I guarantee he'll have some kind of smart quip, a 'what took you so long'," Camille answered, resigned to the fact that she was right.

"Come on," Tir defended, "Viktor's cooler than that. He'll be happy to see us. Schtolteheim Reinbach III does not so easily forget his kin," he shouted, holding a fist in front of him jovially.

Despite Tir being happy about it, Cleo sighed. "You can perfectly remember that complicated name from months ago, yet Gremio and I had to fight to get you to do your studies."

Tir shrugged, and the team continued as if the conversation never happened. Not up to joining the discussions, Kasumi took the silence to whisper reassurance to herself. "If I keep it easy, I can survive this. I can hold it."

\---------------

The idea that she could not strain herself was nothing more than wishful thinking. That first group of enemies was far from the only ones they'd be fighting, there were plenty more encounters, various combinations of the same three types, and they added up over time. By now, the party had slain dozens of opponents since arrival, and Kasumi had to pull her weight. She still wouldn't dare using the Shrike Rune, but again, all the battles added up. Her need was growing fast, approaching her hard limit.

Yet, somehow, the hardest challenge was yet to come. "Come on, Kasumi! You can make it!" She didn't believe those words, she heavily doubted she could "make it", but that wasn't the topic at hand. Word had traveled through the castle that they had intruders, and the place was on lockdown. That didn't mean it was impenetrable, they just needed to be a bit more creative. Such as crossing from one roof to another to enter their window, using a tightrope Krin set up. Her five comrades had already crossed the gap, and were waiting for the ninja to take her turn.

Under any other circumstance, a balancing act like this wouldn't even be worth a second thought. She could handle this obstacle easily if she was fully flexible, but that just wasn't the state she was in. In a desperate attempt to not burst, one taking more and more concentration by the minute, Kasumi's joints had gone stiff. It did have a negative impact on her fighting ability, but her teammates weren't paying total attention, she got away with it then. Now, with all eyes on her to do something much more precise, there was no place to hide.

Still, she couldn't chicken out here. So, without the freedom to bend her knees, she extended her left leg and placed it on the rope, flattening her foot against the thin bridge. Applying pressure to ensure it wouldn't snap or slip, she swung her other leg around very awkwardly, placing that foot down firmly, taking her off solid ground. Her arms were extended to her side to maintain balance, an act normally unnecessary for her, so they couldn't be anywhere near her crotch. At least there wasn't any wind, she was shaking enough already.

The whole time she was crossing, she was embroiled in a harsh, internal struggle. Her bladder had since grown violent, demanding its master to be allowed to drain, a request it would continue to be denied. She didn't want to keep holding, she'd be more than grateful for any place to relieve herself, a need so urgent she was beginning to waver on the point of privacy, anything to avoid this agony any longer. It was beginning to have an adverse effect on her physical well-being, the effort chilling her blood like a fever, exacerbating the already-present chill the altitude brought.

It certainly felt like it was taking forever, definitely due to the pressure, but Kasumi had reason to believe it was long no matter what, judging from the weird looks everyone was giving as she crossed. Or that may have been due to her inhuman walk, more like a badly-made puppet whose strings were operated by someone suffering from hypothermia. Valeria turned to Krin, the person who had spent the most time with Kasumi, who could only shrug. There was no real explanation for her performance, and that's the way she wanted it. Better to have them unable to guess that she was on the verge of wetting herself.

Eventually, she reached the other roof, finally able to stand on steady ground once more. She was still shivering, arms still out, but she was safe. "Good, finally," Camille groaned, "we can finally move." She leapt through the window, thankfully without glass, with the rest following.

Of course, Kasumi was again the last to prepare to make the jump. "I'm losing my speed," she had to admit, dropping her arms to her side, shuffling her feet and standing on her toes to better prepare for the next wave of desperation, sure to be soon.

She wasn't expecting the hearty pat on the back from Tir. "Hey, good job making it across the rope. I can tell you were afraid, but you still did it."

She wouldn't dare tell him it wasn't fear making her hesitate. Well, it was, but of a different variety. She didn't even realize Tir was hanging behind, she thought he jumped through the window already. And most importantly, she was in a precarious position when he slapped her, with minimal point of contact between her feet and the balcony. With that push, she was thrown off-balance, windmilling her arms as she fell forward, landing on her stomach with a loud crash. Hearing the impact, the four that already reentered the building looked back. "Ha! Some ninja," Krin laughed.

At least he was the only one mocking, as Tir grabbed Kasumi's arm and pulled upwards. "You alright?"

The fall wasn't as devastating as it very well could have been, thanks to some light "cushioning", but Kasumi was already right on the edge. No matter the tumble, she was done for. She probably would have lost it if nothing happened, she was just pushed too far. She could practically feel her bladder muscles give out, as urine began to rush to its exit, like a dam on a river being broken. She would be wet really soon.

But, for as long as her body would allow, Tir McDohl would not bear witness to Kasumi's accident. He would not see it, he would not hear it, absolutely none of his senses would be provoked. No one else's should be either, but Tir remaining blind was the top priority. With speed closer to her average, and above it, she jumped to her feet, vaulted through the open window, shoved everyone out of her way, and bolted down the hall, around a corner and out of sight, shouting all the while.

Out of sight, out of earshot, the ninja could make it no farther. The boiling liquids burning a hole in her abdomen, or perhaps the dagger twisting the same spot, however she could describe the pain, it had overtaken her. Her legs went numb, causing her to fall on her butt, knees also hitting the ground as they splayed outwards, that tiny crash becoming the hole that sank the ship, as water began pouring through. The only preparation she had the time or energy to make was lifting the front flap of her robe up to keep it out of harm's way.

She didn't want to look down to avoid the shame, so she heard the sound before she saw anything. For the briefest instant, it was the light pattering hitting fabric, until the pee absolutely soaked through the thin white garment, when it was replaced by the stream smashing against the smooth stone beneath her. Seconds later, even that was usurped as there was no more untouched marble in the path, and there was no sound but splashing water, drowning out the distant sounds from elsewhere in the castle.

By all respects, Kasumi should have been horrified by what she had been reduced to, and she was, anyone capable would be when brought to the level of a mere child. It didn't feel enjoyable, the sudden emptiness left an ache akin to a stomach cramp, and it was spreading a warm, gross wetness through her thin leggings. It smelled awful, stale and pungent. Her head fell, letting her see her mess against her will, the translucent, lightly golden jet shooting forward and outward in small waves, small pockets of foam forming on the surface. She had disgraced herself, her clan, and the Liberation Army in her incompetence.

Still, sometimes a girl just needs to pee. "Ooooohhh," she moaned, her voice cracking as she attempted to reach that high note of bliss, placing her hands on her thighs, careful to keep them dry. "Too...too far..." Those were the last words Kasumi was able to form, as everything following came out instead as broken sighs and inelegant moans, when it wasn't just heavy breathing. There was no room for anything in her mind but the feeling of release.

"K-Kasumi?" Well, except for fear. Or, "terror" would be the more apt descriptor. That voice was definitely Tir, no mistake about it. And now he was seeing Kasumi at her lowest moment. She had spent so long struggling and suffering to avoid him knowing, and she couldn't even get that.

Unfortunately, there was nothing much she could do about it, the flood wasn't stopping any time soon, she would be seeing this one through to the end. "M-Master Tir!" She stuttered as she racked her brain for possible excuses, but it didn't matter. Regardless of how she explained it away, the incontestable fact was that she peed herself. Nothing could make that better.

If she had to face it, she would face it like an adult. She gulped, and slowly turned to face her audience, braced for the look of utter disgust. Instead, far from her wildest expectations, there he was, looking off to the side with a hand against his head, blocking all view of her. "I-I just wanted to make sure you were okay, after y-you ran off like that. I...I guess this explains it."

"Y-yes," Kasumi replied, blankly. How was she supposed to take that? The idea that Tir, a boy who had made it big thanks to his strength, courage, and ingenuity, wouldn't be ashamed of her? It just seemed impossible to believe. It had to be an act, he had to be secretly loathing her under that soft facade.

Or, the more she thought about it, maybe it really did make sense. It wasn't just ability that propelled Tir into his position, it was kindness, charisma, and trusting that made him who he was. No one else could amass such a large and varied army. So, was it possible that he wouldn't hold this against her? "Y...you're really not angry with me?"

"Why would I be angry?"

"W-well, because I'm proving, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I'm incompetent! I tell you that I'm protecting your life, and I can't even do this? I need to fight monsters and imperial soldiers, and-"

"And you pick all of them up and suplex them, no matter how big they are! That's amazing! You've proven time and time again that you're strong and dedicated, exactly the kind of woman I can use more of. In the places where it matters, you're great, no other way to say it."

Kasumi could no longer breathe. Tir McDohl, commander of the Liberation Army, just praised her in the face of obvious evidence to the contrary. And maybe having a crush on him made it even sweeter. He really was one of a kind, and she'd protect that for as long as she lived.

First things first, however, she did need to finish peeing, it was wrapping up now. A few spurts followed the full stream, and lots of drops from the large patch of drenched underwear falling into the massive puddle she didn't dare examine. As soon as there was only a minimal amount of remains dripping, she stood up, dropped her lower coverings, and hurried away, feeling the urine splash around her boots. She stepped carefully to avoid spreading the wetness, forcing Tir to face the complete opposite direction. "Please, Master Tir...please never tell anyone about this, I'm begging you." She clasped her hands together to complete the image.

"Wouldn't you rather I get Cleo for you. She can wash you off with her Flowing Rune, and I know she's good about keeping-"

"No!" She covered her mouth at the outburst, until it was evident Tir wouldn't reprimand her for shouting at a superior. "I...I mean it. Tell no one."

"I don't really get it, but alright," he shrugged. "I won't tell a soul." Kasumi nodded, walking in front of him as a good bodyguard should for the two to return to the group. Until Tir remembered something, and called out to her. "Oh, Kasumi! Until we return to our castle, you should avoid using your Shrike Rune."

She pivoted back to face him, perplexed. "What does my Shrike Rune matter?"

"Er, well..." He scratched his cheek as he looked at a spot on the wall, rather than the girl he was talking to. "When you jump up, we can all see your underwear. I imagine you'd rather avoid that now, with what it would reveal."

The blush Kasumi had become known for today hadn't diminished in quite a while, this one more internal temperature induced rather than embarrassment, but that latter category came back in full force, harsher than ever. She reeled back, clutching at her robe to cover as much of her lower body as it could. "I've been flashing my panties to you this whole time?!"


	2. Yellowhill

The city of Greenhill, part of the autonomous Greenhill Principality, was a famous town. Not just for its unique independence status, having seceded from the City-State Muse some time ago, but for the educational opportunities present within. The city housed New Leaf Academy, one of the most prestigious colleges in the Dunan Republic. Even as the conflicts heated up between Jowston and Highland, Greenhill was keeping free of the bloodshed.

Unfortunately, the war was coming to them, as the Allied Army's leader and his Orange Company were sneaking in on an important mission to rescue Greenhill's mayor-in-hiding, Teresa, to recruit for the war effort. The plan was clear and simple; use forged papers to enroll in the academy, find any useful information, and don't act suspicious while doing it. Time was of the essence, lives were constantly at stake after all, but it was a pretty leisurely errand.

The company members posing as students included: the Allied Army's leader, Riou, destined wielder of the Bright Shield Rune. Nanami, Riou's adoptive sister, dangerous with both her nunchaku and her loud mouth. Eilie, a travelling performer that liked to hang around Riou for reasons unspoken. Gengen the Kobold warrior, Chaco the Winger thief, and Flik the veteran hero, who was away from the party at the moment conducting his own investigation, while simultaneously avoiding a relentless new admirer.

For now, things were calm. The party was wandering around the campus, checking out the classrooms and study halls, talking to the students, occasionally going into town and witnessing Highland soldiers throwing their power around. Okay, tensions were high all around, with Greenhill's citizens almost enacting vigilante justice on the Allied Army's informant, Fitcher, but that was resolved without any violence thanks to Flik's gambit, and it was back to the five being ordinary students.

Unfortunately, that last event had been the final straw that wore out the final, honorary member of the team, a very young girl named Pilika. Despite her age, she had been through a lot of hardship, most notably watching her village, Toto, be burned down, whereupon her parents died and she was almost killed by Prince Luca Blight of Highland. The event had understandably traumatized her into becoming mute, and the only people she could connect with anymore were Riou, Nanami, and their childhood friend Jowy, who...wasn't here at the moment.

As dusk set in and the sun dropped below the horizon, the Orange Company returned from the town onto campus, Pilika resting as Nanami carried her on her back. "What do you think they're going to serve for dinner, Riou," Nanami asked excitedly. In the couple days they had spent at the school, the food served had become her favorite thing, wolfing down her plate, and seconds, and thirds at each and every meal.

"I don't think it matters, you'll eat it regardless," Riou offered.

"Yeah, you eat worse than a pig," Chaco teased, flying in front of the pack so all could see his evil grin.

"Well, of course! I'm a fighter, I need to keep my strength up," she shrugged off. "It's all about proper nutri..." Her statement trailed off as they re-entered the campus gates, as there was someone standing in their path: one of the school's established students, Nina. They had run into her multiple times recently, but it was odd to see her standing still. "Nina? You're not bothering Flik anymore?"

It took time for Nina to respond, she was hunched over, hands on her knees, and panting. "I-I am not 'bothering' Sir Flik! Destiny has brought us together, and I will not let fate pass me by! He just...hasn't realized our inevitable future yet. As soon as I find him again, I'll make sure he understands! Every elegant knight needs his princess!"

Nanami's face soured, and she closed the distance with a march, leaning inches from Nina's face. "Listen, don't think Flik's going to be into you just because you're enthusiastic about him. He's clearly into strong women who know more about fighting than they would reading or cooking," she declared, a heavy air of "holier-than-thou, I know I'm right". "But actually knowing how to cook doesn't hurt," she snickered.

The fires of conflict were being stoked, quite frankly worrying all those watching, and yet somehow, Nina laughed it off, with an exact mirrored haughtiness. "I appreciate you looking out for me, Nanami, you're being such a great friend. But you don't have to worry, I'm a well-rounded woman," she boasted, bringing up a forearm to prop out her upper chest. "Well, I suppose you do have something to worry about. Did you hear those sounds in the dorm last night?"

In an instant, Nanami's skin turned pale. "Y-y-yes...but that couldn't have been that ghost you talked about, right? G-ghosts aren't r-real...right? I-I mean, o-of course they aren't!" She laughed nervously, continuously looking back at Riou, allowing him to see the sweat beads drip from her forehead. It wasn't a surprise, she had reacted this same way every time the topic of the ghost in the dorms had been brought up since they arrived.

"No, you're right, I made that old story up," Nina admitted. "But there was something last night. Who knows? Could be a real ghost. Well, I should get going, I've got my own things to do. Have a good night, Nanami." Nina waved farewell, running off into the distance. "Sir Flik! Where have you run off to?!"

Once Nina had dashed away, Eilie made her thoughts crystal clear, ones it sounded like she had been holding in for quite some time. "That girl's crazy, getting so obsessive over a guy. A real woman knows how to control herself."

"Gengen thinks neither of you are ones to talk," the Kobold accused.

She should have been offended, Eilie certainly was, but Nanami was still too shaken up to properly respond. "R-Riou...s-she was just kidding, right? T-there's no ghost, right?"

It wouldn't be out of character for Riou to comfort his older stepsister, but as the younger brother, a different response was also appropriate. He held his hands in front of his face and wiggled his fingers. "At the stroke of midnight..."

"Aaaaahhhhhh!" Nanami covered her ears, closed her eyes, and shook her head violently enough to sway her hair side to side. "Nononononono! There's no such thing as ghosts!" Trembling so fiercely, Pilika had to tighten her grip around Nanami's neck to prevent falling off, reminding her carrier that she was present at all. "Oh! There's nothing to be scared of, Pilika! I'll even sleep with you tonight!"

Pilika looked at Nanami, perplexed. She couldn't verbally express her confusion at what the older girl was trying to claim, but everyone else caught on to the face-saving scheme. All except Chaco, lost in thoughts of his own. "She called you 'Nanami'. Didn't we give everyone fake names?" The team looked between each other, acknowledging the Winger had a point, but none could come up with an answer. Did they say their real names at some point and forget, or did Nina know more than she let on? Try as they might, none could come up with a plausible answer, so they shrugged, gave up, and proceeded to the dorms, before it got dark.

\---------------

"Hnnnnngghhhh," Nanami grunted, clawing at her blankets. It was the dead of night, everyone else was long since asleep, yet she remained awake. Fear had prevented her from entering slumber, she couldn't relax while worrying about a roaming ghost, but it wasn't the only thing keeping her from getting comfortable. It wasn't just endless plates of food at dinner, but also chugging down a half-dozen drinks to wash them down. Her stomach may have seemed bottomless, but in the hours that had passed, her bladder had proven it did not share that distinction, as all those glasses of liquid filled it up to near-limit.

In any other situation, this shouldn't have even been a concern. She was up, she was desperate, perfect time to run to the bathroom and relieve herself. Even if they were camping out in the wilderness, it was easy enough to wander off and water the plants. The key difference was, at any other time, there wasn't the threat of a ghost. If she were to leave the security of her bed, she had no idea what horrifying thing she would find out in the halls. She wasn't brave enough to take that risk, because she knew: if she saw something scary on the way out, she suddenly wouldn't have to go anymore.

And she had very few options to pee. Attempting to make it to the proper location was a risky proposition, and there were no alternatives in her room. No containers, no window, and she couldn't very well wet her bed with another girl sleeping in it. "Unless I...no!" A brief thought flashed through her mind of soaking the sheets and blaming Pilika if questioned, but that seemed unnecessarily cruel.

That left only one possibility, to find someone willing to accompany her. Of course, the first thought was Pilika, she was right there after all, but asking a little kid to be her comfort was demeaning, and wouldn't ease her fear at all. She'd have to brave the darkness a little to run into one of the other bedrooms, but whose? Of course Chaco and Gengen were out of the question, so would it be Eilie or Riou, a fellow girl or her brother?

"Riou...Riou will help me, definitely." Despite the lack of blood relation, the two were close as could be, he was sure to help out however he could. And his room was right next door, so she wouldn't have to survive the black halls for long. Finally, she had a plan, and not a moment too soon. "I gotta get over there, now!" She quickly swung her legs out from under the quilt, bending her knees so her feet could touch the floor, ready to run, when one final concern occurred to her. "I can't just leave Pilika alone..." Crossing her legs and squishing her thighs together, she gently prodded the little girl. "Pilika...Pilika..." Pilika remained firmly in slumber, and it didn't seem like more pushing would change that.

Though, that peaceful rest was not to last. At that moment, a piercing, echoing creak overtook Nanami's ears, sending a shiver up her spine. And in that instant, her eyes shot open, all sleepiness fizzled away in a sea of adrenaline, even the impossible-to-rouse Pilika shot up immediately, instinctively clutching for Nanami. "I-it's okay, Pilika," she comforted, "although that shock almost got me." A heart-stopping surprise like that, it was a miracle she didn't have an accident then and there.

Without any time to think before panic took hold, Nanami could only think of one explanation for the ruckus. "I-i-i-it's the ghost!" She squeezed Pilika's wrist hard enough to cut off circulation, and took off running with enough speed to pull the little girl's arm off, yanking her from the bed. Nanami dragged her all the way to Riou's door, knocking with the force to knock it off its hinges. "Riou! Riou, get up! Get up now!"

The pounding continued for another half-minute, until Riou finally answered, wiping his eyes. "What is it, Nanami?"

"That creak! It's the ghost! I know it!"

"It's probably just someone stepping on a creaky stair. You're being paranoid."

"No, I'm serious! It's the ghost, it has to be!" She grabbed her brother's collar and began shaking him, waking him up fully with his own shouts.

Gengen slumped around the corner, yawning. "Gengen can't sleep with all this screaming. What's going on?"

Following behind, Chaco peeked from behind Gengen's back. "Are you still freaking out about that ghost story?"

And finally, Eilie rose from above both their heads. "For what it's worth, I heard the creaking too."

"See?! It's real! The ghost is real!" Nanami shook Riou harder, who was beginning to go limp.

Finally, Riou knocked his sister away. "Alright, we can go take a look." He left his room to join his team, pushing them aside to lead them, very slowly, out into the corridors. He leaned in around the nearest corner, everyone else following his lead shortly afterwards, to take a peek. Nanami was the last to look, even Pilika got in before her.

Aside from Nanami, none of them were expecting to see anything, and prepared to chew the girl out for wasting all their time with her nonsensical phobia. In fact, they were geared up for it, when a shadow flashed by, disappearing out of view down the stairs. That was absolutely the sight no one was expecting to see, even Nanami found herself hoping she was wrong. As such, when no one else could muster up a response to the sight, she expressed herself, clearly and loudly. "Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Letting go of Pilika's wrist, she tightly hugged Riou from behind, desperate for comfort.

As that startle and jump reminded her, that wasn't the only thing she was desperate for. Her full bladder jolted, but without much room to slosh around, the urine needed to move somewhere else. That relocation turned out to be into her underwear, a little patch of warm dampness spreading across her crotch, out of sight beneath her pants, but absolutely noticeable to Nanami. "Eep!" Her arms released Riou, as their focus rediverted to pressing against her pants, begging to keep that little drop the only bit that escaped.

The resolve was enough to hold off the flood for now, but leaving an intense pain near her stomach as punishment. Now would be the perfect time to hit the bathroom, if not for one major problem that had just presented itself: Nanami was right. There was something prowling the dorms. Now wasn't the time to take a break, with all the sabotage and cutthroat tactics going on in this war, it was imperative they catch the specter or whatever it really was, and Riou was leading the charge. "Hurry! Don't let it escape!"

As the team ran after the shadow, Nanami was left behind with Pilika, eyeing the opposite direction, the one housing the toilets. "Wait! I need to...Agh!" It was clear her teammates weren't going to listen to her, and it wouldn't be appropriate to hang behind while they did something important, just to pee. The only action she could take now was buckle down, be tough, and hold it in. Groaning loudly, since her friends clearly weren't listening to her, she grabbed Pilika's hand and ran after the four.

\---------------

Well, the good news was, there was no ghost. The dark spirit they witnessed was, in fact, just Flik. He was tailing Shin, Teresa's aide, through secret passages and into the forest behind the campus. It was nice to know there was no ghost, but this meant a lead to their actual mission, and they couldn't very well ignore that and go back to sleep, which meant the whole team was trekking further into the forest.

It also meant that Nanami still had not relieved herself, and it wasn't looking like she would get the chance any time soon. There hadn't been another leak, she could thank her strength training from Grandpa Genkaku for that, but she was still on the verge of an accident with little time left. And having this predicament in the woods was the ultimate torture, every tree tempting her with memories of what she could do to them if she wasn't in the middle of a mission, and accompanied by others. No way would she let Flik see her acting so pitiful.

Well, she didn't want to demean herself, but it wasn't really looking like she was going to have a choice. She had to go bad, and their tailing task was slow-going. And with every passing second, Nanami's bladder was becoming more of a pained nuisance, threatening louder and louder to spill its contents straight into her pants, and she was beginning to feel powerless to resist. Maybe it really would be worth it to be honest, and just ask to stop.

Well, they were stopping, but it wouldn't be for anything to ease the struggle, at least not for her. Looking out over the limited distance, and lost in her own worries, Nanami wasn't paying attention to her immediate surroundings, and was caught off-guard by Pilika tugging on the scarf around her waist. "W-what is it, Pilika?" She looked down at her little companion, and with her eyes adjusting to the darkness, she could see exactly what was bothering Pilika. She was lightly clutching the front hem of her pink dress, rubbing her thighs together and looking really nervous. She couldn't say what the problem was, but she had performed this exact mime before, it could be perfectly translated into words: "Big sis Nanami, I gotta go potty."

This wasn't the first time she had needed to make that request, a small girl needed more frequent breaks of all kinds on the long road from one town to another, and Nanami always took the responsibility of taking her off the path to answer nature's call away from prying eyes. Not only was it wrong to make Pilika hold it longer than necessary, but it also provided a good opportunity to handle her own needs without ever having to admit as much. It had become a response to associate that potty dance with her own impending emptiness, something she absolutely didn't want to picture when she really needed that exact feeling, with no idea when she'd get it. Just the sight was enough to make Nanami whine, repeatedly pressing her legs into each other.

However, as she soon realized, this could be a perfect opportunity. No one would have the heart to refuse Pilika with such a critical request, not unless the present situation was too dangerous to allow any stragglers. Right now, they could probably get away with an escape. "Hey guys, Pilika needs a quick minute. You go on without us, we'll catch up."

"You sure? We can wait for you," Riou offered.

"I agree," seconded Flik. "It would be dangerous to leave you two alone in unfamiliar territory, especially in the dark."

Two against two, and it didn't look like anyone else would be stepping in, leaving the two sides at a stalemate. That is, until Eilie put her foot down and started pushing the two men further on their path. "Don't you two know anything? When a girl says she needs alone time, she means it! Let's go!" She helped the boys along their way, Flik in particular being rendered speechless, as Gengen and Chaco followed, having played no part.

Finally, the ladies had their privacy. Nanami sighed in relief at the thought of the relief she'd soon be getting, practically drooling at the image. It took Pilika tugging on her scarf again, pointing to the denser forest off the beaten path, to bring her back to the real world. "R-right, we should hurry." She led Pilika into the deeper shadows of the many tree trunks, waiting just long enough to ensure they were out of sight before reaching for the waistband on her pants. "Phew, I've been waiting too long for this."

But just as she was about to undress, she was interrupted by yet another tug from Pilika. A part of her wanted to just ignore whatever the request was in order to pee, but the big sister instinct overpowered the urge. "What is it now," she asked, a tone of frustration clearly evident. She looked over Pilika, desperate to find what was bothering her now. But she was just doing the same potty dance, turning this into a frantic guessing game. "You're starting to have an accident? You need help undressing? Something else hurts?" Every one was met with a dismissive head shake as Pilika's prance grew faster, until Nanami finally hit the jackpot. "You want me to stand watch?" The little girl nodded in agreement.

On the surface, it sounded like a reasonable request. It was the dead of night in the middle of some woods, probably with monsters and vicious animals. Having someone guarding her while she was incapacitated was the sensible thing to ask, and under ordinary circumstances, Nanami would be happy to oblige. If only it wasn't imperative that Nanami start peeing soon. "I-I promise nothing is going to attack you, Pilika! Just let me go..."

Before she could properly plead her case, Pilika's eyes suddenly pressed tightly shut, and she squeezed her dress even harder. Nanami couldn't see the finer details, but there was little to get in the way of hearing what happened next. A light pattering sound, with the tiniest hint of liquid hitting fabric, but primarily pee falling into the dirt between her feet. Pilika was already having her accident, and Nanami was about to do the same. She quickly twisted her legs, grabbing her crotch with no hint of shame, halfway doubling over with a pained grimace. She wanted to rip her pants down and go right there, but she had yet to receive approval to not stand guard, and she wasn't going to get it now. "Please, just don't take too long, Pilika!"

The instant she got the okay, Pilika lifted her pink dress above her waist, shoving her white panties to her ankles, where only she could see how much they were actually yellow now. She squatted down, wrapping her arms around her knees, making good use of what Nanami had taught her back when she didn't know how to pee outside. Without any obstructions, the golden stream sprinkled cleanly into the soil.

That soft little tinkle was enough to drive Nanami crazy, as her bladder made one more shove, practically forcing all her pee out. She had to double, and triple, and quadruple her grip to force her muscles into obedience, being pelted with endless agony in the process. She had to turn away to ensure she wouldn't see the relief, if she would have even found the strength to open her eyes, but with her hands way too occupied, there was nothing she could do to drown out the noise. Pilika wasn't letting out a constant pee, she was nervous, spraying in loud and forceful, but brief spurts. She'd rest for a second, and then resume going for another two. Not only did this mean it was taking nearly double the time to finish, but every pause, Nanami found herself praying it was the end, only to have her hopes dashed as more flowed out.

It was unavoidable, that flowing sound to a desperate girl had to have an effect. Nanami had to pee so incredibly bad, she needed to follow Pilika's lead. Warmth quickly filled her underwear, renewing the tepid dampness and sticking the fabric to her skin. And this time, her panties weren't enough to contain the leaks, as the stream seeped through, snaking down her legs and being absorbed by her pants. Even her gloves were taking damage, and she could feel the heat on the fingertips and palm of her right hand clutching her crotch.

She tried her hardest, but there as nothing more Nanami could do. She was already grabbing herself as hard as she could, with her thighs twisted together, and she was putting all her effort towards holding. She was not about to give up and accept a wetting, but it was starting to look futile with the increasing soaking her green pants were displaying. If it wasn't near-pitch black out, she was sure she'd be found out as soon as she returned to the group. That is, if she didn't totally lose it, because that couldn't be hidden.

Perhaps fate had decided she had suffered enough recently, or she had a lot more endurance than she previously believed possible, because the flow of urine heating her lower half was stemmed, a little more dripping down before nothing more sprang forth. It was a close victory, she felt soaked enough to believe she didn't make it, but Pilika was still shooting out a stop-and-start stream, so Nanami couldn't have emptied out yet. Plus, her insides were still being tortured, so she definitely still needed to pee, worse than almost any other time, even with that partial release.

It was a combo of good fortune tonight, because the splashing of urine into a growing puddle halted, and five seconds later, had yet to restart. She heard Pilika's clothes rustle, as she surely pulled her underwear back up and let her dress cover it again. She no longer needed someone taking special care to watch for her, not that Nanami had done a good job of that task, so it was time for the older girl to do what her body demanded. Once again, she gripped her waistband, determined to let nothing interrupt her this time as the pants slid past her butt.

At that moment, a rustling emanated from a nearby shrub. Even that wasn't enough to stop Nanami, her pants halfway down her thighs as she was halfway bent down into a squat. The only thing giving her pause was Pilika jumping at the noise, shaking as she looked between the source of the noise and Nanami. She clearly wanted some protection, but now wasn't the time. "J-just get behind me," Nanami commanded, getting her pants to her knees as she moved her attention to removing her panties.

Too bad her luck had run out. The rustle happened again, and it had friends this time, multiple echoes from behind other hiding places in the same general direction. Whatever was causing the noise, it was something numerous, and experience had only shown her one thing that would act that way: monsters. Monsters were coming for them, obviously Pilika couldn't fight them off, and Nanami would be useless if she were to go through with undressing. She could either take the punishment while peeing, or...

"Pilika, let's run!" She grabbed Pilika's hand and dashed off, away from the noises, towards the direction the party had left in. It was a simple plan, lead the monsters to the people capable of fighting, let them deal with the threat, and run off on her own while they had their battle. It no longer mattered if they could easily guess what she was doing, who cared? Nanami had to pee! It was hard enough holding it as they ran, each step allowing a little more urine to slip out and join its brethren, the added wetness no longer registering.

Just as it was beginning to seem she was going to fail, silhouettes appeared at the end of her vision, totaling a perfect five, exactly what she was expecting. "Riou! Riou! Something's chasing us!"

Hearing his name called out, Riou turned to face his sister, and see her frantic stride and terrified facial expression, with nothing behind her. "Are you okay, Nanami?"

"No, I think she's right. I hear something coming," Flik warned, drawing his sword from the scabbard on his belt, prompting everyone else to grab their weapons. There was a painful silence, as everyone waited for the inevitable ambush, scanning their surroundings for any other clues to where the attack would begin from. Even Nanami was sticking around, she had no idea how many creatures were lurking in those woods, she didn't want to duck behind a tree close to any of them and waste the opportunity she was banking on by coming out here in the first place. Her rapid dancing and stepping were becoming faster and faster as the flood in her bladder was rising over the dam wall, reminding her how much every second counted right now.

Finally, their patience paid off, as enemies jumped from beyond the treeline, coming to a halt before the party, ready to attack. Five Holly Boys, and one Holly Elf. The Holly Boys were no problem, incredibly weak in both attack and health, but the Holly Elf was heartier, fast, and commanded the small tufts of leaves. Defeating the dryad first would be the real priority, or its abilities would cause trouble. And of course, it was hanging in the back row, where only Eilie's attacks could reach it. Now was Nanami's only chance to bow out, drawing as little attention to herself as possible. Still holding Pilika's hand, she took careful, deliberate steps away from the battle formation, quietly sneaking away into the deeper forest.

Too bad Riou had different plans. "Nanami! Let's get the elf together!"

True, the step-siblings had an attack where they'd strike the same enemy with a unified series of swings and kicks. But now was hardly the time for such a strenuous activity, not if she wanted to stay...only mildly wet. "I-I don't think that's a good idea! I need to..." She couldn't even admit the truth before Riou jumped forward, snaking between the Holly Boys to stand immediately before the Holly Elf.

Now he was in a precarious predicament, in the middle of an enemy formation, waiting for Nanami to leap in and team up. They had practiced this move many times, both in training with Grandpa Genkaku and in the field, it was strong, but it absolutely required the two working together in perfect harmony. Riou had just thrown himself into danger, because he wholeheartedly believed Nanami would join him. Trust was his defining characteristic.

Nanami didn't have a choice. "Alright! But only one attack!" She leapt forward to join her brother, landing right next to him, staring the Holly Elf down. The two looked at each other and nodded confirmations to start fighting, with Nanami's of course looking much less optimistic. Still, it was enough, and their wild attack began. It started with swinging their weapons in various directions, all in perfect time and coordination. Having to lean her body forward to get maximum power from her nunchaku was not easy on the poor girl. Then came the unarmed attacks, something many times worse. Each punch sent a recoil shockwave back through her person, rippling her bladder like a stone thrown in a pond, to say nothing of needing to lift one leg in the air for a high kick, fully exposing the wet patch on her pants and growing it further. How she didn't lose it there was anyone's guess.

The attack paid off, the final hits connected, and the Holly Elf faded from existence, allowing the two to jump back to their positions. Notably, Nanami in the back row, allowing her to ruthlessly squeeze between her legs, free from witnesses. The wetness was starting to feel chilly, a good sign if it meant there wasn't much hot pee to warm it up, but she was still extraordinarily damp. Once again, she had to concentrate all her focus on holding, totally isolating her senses from her surroundings. She started wavering with lost balance, she didn't see or hear everyone else jumping forward in succession to attack their foes.

And she certainly didn't see, after the other four had taken their turns, there was still one Holly Boy alive. It hopped twice to approach, leaving everyone on guard but unsure where it would strike. And, because fate was evil, its attack was aimed directly at Nanami, as it revealed when it rocketed towards her torso. Whether it could sense her distraction, or it was just going for the one target not actively defending herself, maybe it was just bad luck. Whatever the reason, it wouldn't end well for Nanami, especially when she only realized something was closing in seconds before impact, too late to dodge, not that her stiff body would be able to react fast enough anyway. Still, she attempted a last-second evasion, ducking off to the side with all the speed she could muster.

It wasn't quick enough, of course not, but something else interfered. Flik, the honorable mercenary, in the front row before her, came to her aid. He swung his blade with expert precision, cutting through the Holly Boy in its tracks, in a wide swing that almost hit Gengen to his side. It would have been a legendary save, if it wasn't all for a tiny foe that would have barely scratched through their thick, battle-ready clothing.

It also would have been better had Nanami known she'd have been safe standing her ground. She had made the grave mistake of making a sudden dive, one that upset the delicate equilibrium, the only thing keeping her from a further accident. And she knew this, even before the exact moment of failure, she didn't even try physically holding this time. It wouldn't do any good. The color faded from her face, she froze, and couldn't say anything, only making small choking sounds, nearly putting her on the same level as Pilika. While most were simply confused by her sudden change in attitude, Riou had the experience to know something was wrong. "Nanami...is something wrong?"

While their eyes had adjusted to the darkness reasonably well by now, sound was still the primary sense to rely on. That meant, with their ears open, everyone clearly heard the crashing slam of fluid falling onto the hard dirt. It was loud to all, but to Nanami, it might as well have been deafening. Not just from proximity, though that certainly didn't help matters, but shame. Not only was it embarrassing to pee herself at her age, not only was it embarrassing to have an accident in front of her brother, a girl that looked up to her as a big sister, a dreamy older man, and three people she barely knew, but it had to be her, heir to Genkaku's trainings. Her and Riou had only recently been told of their grandpa's exploits, that he used to be a hero of the state, so with that in mind, it felt like she was failing something much greater than herself.

But more than anything, it just felt bad. The torrid torrent rushing out, soaking her pants while simultaneously powering through the two layers of clothing, hitting the ground so hard it splashed back onto her ankles. Her loose pant legs now stuck to her skin, squishing with every minute movement, constantly fluctuating between the searing heat of the pee and biting chill of the wind. And it just wasn't stopping. She could still pull her pants down, squat, and spray to save herself from about half her bladder, but there was no point, she was drenched already. And she wasn't about to expose herself in plain view of everyone.

She didn't need to, they were already getting quite the view of her disgrace. Up to now, Nanami had been forceful, loud, took charge, and did things her way with guts. Granted, it was an immature brand of bravado, but it was still far removed from the kind of juvenile behavior that would excuse peeing herself. If Pilika had an accident, that would be cause for concern and comfort. With Nanami, someone who should know better, it only meant she was a loser, not worthy of respect. She'd be forever in the shadow of her younger brother, the Allied Army's commander. Riou would go down in history one day as the boy who defeated Luca Blight, and she'd be his sister, the one who peed herself.

That was her fear, one founded by the first person with the courage to remark on the sight. Would it be Riou to tell her it'd be all right? Would it be Flik or Eilie putting in an honest effort to make her feel better? Maybe even Pilika could chime in with a smile or something? Nope, it was Chaco. "Hahahahahaha! Wow, that's rich! And you were lecturing me on responsibility in Two River! Some 'big girl' you are!"

It was harsh, but Nanami couldn't argue. She had failed, made herself look incompetent, pitiful. She still was, even as she was being mocked, she was still peeing. It had eased up, though it was still quite violent, and unceasing. It wasn't the only water she'd be producing either, as she couldn't help it again and began crying, wails and all.

She didn't even realize how loud she was sobbing until there was no splashing from the puddle beneath her to drown it out. Somehow, her bladder had finally emptied. She had to admit, there was some satisfaction to being finished, her episode was over, and she didn't feel like she might explode with the force of Viktor igniting fire spears. But those tiny comforts were erased, as soon as she opened her eyes, reddened and swollen, and saw everyone staring at her. Why wouldn't they be, she had just humiliated herself, wasn't that a funny sight? She had the right to be upset, and she exercised that right. "D-don't look at me," she shouted, running off into the woods like it wasn't too late for that.

Five minutes earlier, this kind of privacy would have been the best possible outcome, a place she could let loose and leave this whole mess simply a close call. But now, after she had already ashamed her entire being, the dark void only served as a reflection of her inner self: black, cold, and alone. Not that it would embarrass her any further at this point, but without anyone to see, she fell to her eyes and started a second round of tears.

"Nanami?" Was actually having a little time to herself to cry too much to ask? Why did Riou have to come over?

"J-just leave me alone. I'm not worth worrying about." She waved her brother away, refusing to look anywhere near him.

"We're still looking for Teresa, remember? Come on, I can't have someone chickening out on us. The only way we're going to win this war is to be strong, no matter what troubles are thrown at us."

"But I'm pathetic! I can't help you, I'm just a burden who should fade away and be paid no mind."

"...okay, let me tell you something. Back when me and Jowy's brigade was attacked by Luca Blight, when we escaped and were on the run. We could have disappeared into the shadows where we'd never be found, or we could have stayed with Viktor and Flik where we'd be safe. But you know what Jowy was adamant about? That we infiltrate Highland territory, when we were already branded traitors, and get into Kyaro. Not to retrieve some item, or say goodbye to his family. It was to make sure you were with us."

That was a part of the story she hadn't heard before. With great difficulty, she choked back her tears, and faced Riou, bending down and extending a hand to pull her to her feet. "J-Jowy said that?"

"Yep. You know him just as well as I do, would he have gone so far if he didn't believe in you?"

All at once, it was like a heavy weight was lifted off her shoulders. There was still a lot of lingering misery, but she felt...relieved, like the feeling of blissful release had only just hit her. Without any assistance, she jumped back to stand, towering above her brother for a second before he righted himself. "W-well, of course! I knew he had faith in me all this time! We're friends! In fact, I was the one protecting you two when we were little!"

Riou chuckled. "Yeah, you were. Guess I'm only paying back the favor now, huh?"

"Oh, come on! You don't owe me anything! Just end this war, and the three of us can live in peace somewhere! Then we'll be even!"

"You're feeling alright now?"

"Sure! Momentary setback, it's all good. Just need to take a bath when we get back to the dorms." She started marching back towards their team, a very noticeable spring in her step, despite the added discomfort so much leg movement caused.

Riou smiled, this was more like the Nanami he knew. It took her a minute this time, the constant stress taking a toll on her, but she still bounced back. He had to sprint to catch up with her lead. Things would be okay.

Well, Nanami still had one concern. "Hey, I know he trusts me, and wouldn't think less of me or anything like that, but...please don't tell Jowy about this when we see him again."

"I...I don't think this will be what we talk about when we meet," Riou replied, suddenly somber.

"Good! Let's just get this over with, so I can wash myself off!" Everyone was safe, Nanami was back in good spirits, and they still had a lead towards finding Teresa and securing an alliance with Greenhill. Everything was on track. Except, if they did find someone at the end of this maze, Nanami was determined to hang back, out of sight. Couldn't have the rest of the team looking bad.


	3. Liquid Currents

The woods had grown boring. Nash Latkje, special agent of the Harmonian Southern Defense Force, had been wandering through this forest for what felt like days, and he was running low on resources and supplies from the hike. Not that his training hadn't prepared him for hardships such as these, but the strain was still taking its toll on his constitution. "I'm never going to get anything done at this rate," he complained, voice weak from exhaustion.

"Stop whining up there, I can hardly sleep with your chatter ringing in my ears." The lack of energy could almost squarely be blamed on the passenger taking residence on Nash's back. A young woman with pale skin and white hair, practically albino, was attempting to rest on top of bags and boxes only secured by Nash's shoulders, in the middle of the afternoon no less.

The question certainly occurred to him why he was even putting up with her laziness. "If it's so hard to sleep, then get up and carry your own things."

"Talk like that again, and you can kiss that information goodbye," she retorted, yawning.

The two met in the abandoned Blue Moon Village, where the woman, whose name she revealed to be Sierra Mikain, was the only remaining resident, which made her Nash's only lead. His job was to research information on the True Runes, with Harmonia's ally Highland moving to war, that kind of knowledge could be vital. Problem was, the nature of the True Runes wasn't recorded in any kind of book, making the only source he could go to the Rune Bearers. And with Sierra the only survivor of the Moon Rune's Blue Moon Village, that made her all he had. Which meant he had to do her bidding, carrying her to Muse to appease her.

"Although, there is a way you can give me some energy," Sierra offered, a very sultry seductive tone evident in her voice. She spun around and slid lower down, swinging her legs around Nash's waist and pressing her face close to his neck, close enough where her cold breath made his hairs stand on edge. Opening her mouth with the smack of her saliva splitting, her lips surrounded Nash's nape as her sharp fangs pierced the tough skin.

With reflexes so quick they could only belong to a veteran fighter, Nash's left hand let go of its grip on the luggage to aim a hidden anchor wire at Sierra's head, forcing her retreat. "Hey, we agreed there'd be no blood-sucking, you old witch!"

That was the other trait Sierra harbored, which meant one more nuisance Nash had to put up with. Sierra wasn't human, or at least, hadn't been in a very long time. The power of the Moon Rune had turned her into a vampire, granting her immortality, along with the ability to spread her affliction to others at will through a bite. This alone made Nash incredibly wary about accompanying her, considering his knowledge of the vampire massacre in North Window long ago, until Sierra lectured him with a history and biology lesson on vampires too long for him to pay attention to. The most he was able to gather was that, as the owner of the Moon Rune, Sierra didn't need to suck blood to survive.

The coven mistress was prepared to attack Nash for making fun of her age, but that proved to be unnecessary. The change in balance he caused to himself in order to strike back took away his footing, the gravity of his cargo pulling him down to his right, sending the two colliding in a crash of personal items. They splayed out among the goods, neither in control of their positioning upon hitting the dirt. Didn't stop Sierra, on top, from elbowing Nash in the side of the head when his open hand happened to stop Sierra's bare thigh from hitting the ground.

However, he wasn't the only one feeling pain now, as Sierra realized soon after. The source was quite different, but it was no less worrying, that warm ache emanating from her stomach. Even with the extra power provided as a vampire, Sierra still had a bladder of her own, one that still required tending to. And the harsh landing in the dirt had reminded her, it would certainly like to be emptied, possibly into that same dirt, watering the same grass it sprouted. While a lack of blood meant that wasn't fluids adding to her strain, she still needed water, and however much she had taken from Nash's supply was proving to be a mistake.

Living in a lone cabin in the woods for centuries, answering nature's call like that was hardly a foreign concept. Sierra wasn't even a shy girl. No, the obstacle now was Nash. With the whole thigh grope incident still fresh in her mind, probably because she hadn't moved off of Nash yet, she had no faith that a man like him wouldn't take a peek if she were to expose herself out in the open. Humans were such primitive, base creatures.

Which left her with the pressing question of what she could do? Frankly, she didn't have the energy or drive to wander far enough off the road to remain unseen, if she could even give a reasonable explanation for her absence (or a threat not to question it). But she'd lose her ride if she nodded off on his back and subsequently peed herself. Could she even hold it?

"Hey! Get the hell off me, you bat!" Or maybe she should take things one step at a time, that first step being unpinning Nash. Of course, she did so very slowly, allowing him to breathe again, coughing at the sudden influx of oxygen.

Sierra had no sympathy, of course. "Hurry and pick all that up, it'll be dark soon."

"Why didn't we take a carriage?"

"There weren't any in the last town, they had all been rented out."

Immediately afterwards, as if strictly to make her look dumb, the two picked up the approaching sound of bouncing, rolling wheels and clopping hooves. The source, as it trotted into view, was a wooden carriage pulled by two horses, its passengers a Kobold mother and her two sons, who were roughhousing playing with a wooden doll. Nash's gaze turned a side-eye to Sierra, exasperated and frustrated.

However, amidst the silence of the forest, their focus was inevitably pulled to the Kobolds making a ruckus. "Come on, lemme see it," the Kobold pup that didn't have the toy pleaded, reaching over their mom to take the doll by force.

"No, it's my turn," his brother shouted, leaning away to protect his figure, holding it outside the boundaries of the carriage to keep it out of reach.

"Boys, boys, please settle down," the mother reprimanded, reaching out to keep them separated and properly in their seats. However, the jolt of grabbing her son by the collar made him lose his grip, dropping the toy outside the carriage.

With the cart moving very slowly in its leisure ride, Nash had no trouble catching up, picking the wooden doll off the ground and returning it to the Kobolds. "There you go. Take care not to drop it again."

The mother pulled the reigns to the horses close to her chest, bringing the steeds to a halt. "Thank you very much, sir." She turned her children's heads to look at Nash. "Thank the nice man, kids."

The kid who dropped the toy gave his gratitude, but his brother instead tugged on his mother's sleeve. "Mom, I gotta go tinkle."

With the vehicle already stopped, there was no reason to refuse the request. "Alright, go on that tree right there," the mother instructed, pointing to a tree within easy view. Many would find the lack of privacy a deal-breaker, but the Kobold pup wasn't concerned with modesty, he just needed to go. Lifting a leg to climb over the wall, he jumped out of the carriage, running to the aforementioned tree with a paw on his crotch. As soon as he reached the trunk, he quickly shoved his pants down, reaching both hands to his front and aiming a clear, healthy stream of liquid, splashing and streaming down the rough bark into a puddle by the roots.

Nash thought nothing of it, that's just what you need to do, and looked away to give the kid his earned privacy. Sierra didn't look either, for entirely different reasons. Of course, she had to deal with someone else peeing when she really needed to go, and while she could and did avert her eyes, there wasn't much she could do to avoid hearing it. At least, not with only one free hand, as the other was tugging on the front hem of her skirt, pulling it down for no logical reason other than to give that hand something to grip and keep it busy, anything to prevent it from being too obvious by slipping between her legs.

Thankfully, for the sake of her own sanity and dryness, the leak didn't take very long. Less than a minute and the pup was done, shaking himself dry and pulling his pants back up to bound back to the carriage. "All set, mom!" Safe and relieved, the family urged the horses on, and their carriage rolled away, down the road and out of sight.

The lack of auditory stimulation slowly brought Sierra down from riding out her tall waves of bladder strain. She could feel her abdomen easing up on its torment, allowing her to remove the grip on her skirt, mere seconds before Nash looked at her once again. "It's going to be dark soon," he reminded. "We should start setting up camp before we can't see."

"Let's keep moving. There's a mansion nearby we can stay at."

That claim came out of nowhere, leaving Nash stunned, to put it lightly. "What?! When were you going to tell me?"

"I just did. Now pick up my stuff and carry me," Sierra commanded, practically falling asleep on her feet.

"This information can't be worth this much hassle," Nash lamented, yet he still bent down to gather their personal items. "I'd certainly like to spend a night in a real bed, though." The side of the road the two were inhabiting was soon bustling with the grunts and crashes of a poor man torturing himself with heavy packing.

Of course, Sierra was suffering through torture of her own. She was at the phase of desperation where she was once again eyeing all the foliage, thinking about what would happen should she run behind any of it and unleash her body's contents in a nice warm stream. She was pretty tempted to do just that, it would certainly feel really nice. Just squat and take care of business, with a messy puddle to show for it.

If only Nash wasn't right there. If she were to sneak away, he could either follow her to be a pervert, or abandon her in the middle of nowhere for the way she treated him. Either way, she wouldn't give him the chance, she'd be sticking by him. Men were nothing more than miserable little piles of secrets, he'd be doomed without a generous vampire to protect him.

There was another reason she couldn't simply tell him she needed to whiz, either. Vampires had very slow metabolism, which allowed for their long lives and limited diet. And because of that unusual biology, Sierra's cycle of fluids progressed at a far slower rate than humans. As such, she hadn't needed any sort of bathroom break since the two had met. Now was hardly the time to introduce that little fact about her body.

"Sierra! Get over here, or I'm leaving you behind," Nash called. That's all she needed to hear to confirm her views of dumb humans. It was also what she wanted to hear, because it meant her seat was free to take once more. Slowly, with a heaviness in her step, she climbed back onto Nash's back, who had long since given up arguing, nodding off to sleep within minutes. Whatever she'd need to do about peeing, it could wait until she'd gotten some rest.

\---------------

"Hey, hag! Is this the place you were talking about?!" Nash attempted to hit Sierra on the head to forcibly wake her up, but with her eyes still closed, she managed to intercept the blow.

What a rude awakening. "There are better ways to wake a lady, you know," she loudly yawned, wiping her eyes clear.

"Well, you're certainly not like any lady I know."

"Thank you," Sierra accepted, knowing full well it wasn't meant to be taken as a compliment. She arced her head up to look ahead of them, and sure enough, she saw a large, gothic mansion shrouded in darkness. Suddenly, the vampire was awake, and on guard. "Yes, this is the place." She hopped off Nash's back, wiping her clothes off to look cleaner and more presentable.

However, that landing on the hard soil was the kind of wake-up call she didn't need. The impact rippled through her body, resonating in everything malleable from her ankles to her neck, and that included her quite full bladder. All that pent-up urine jumped at once, creating a powerful force attempting to force its way out, with a stinging stab of agonizing pain, to the point there was the faintest idea she would wet herself there.

In a stroke of good fortune for the vampire, that fear never came to pass, not even a tiny leak, her underwear remained dry, for the time being. A lucky break, to be sure, but one that wasn't likely to repeat. She would need to stave off the need through actions of her own, starting by bouncing on her heels, biting her bottom lip.

She couldn't have picked a worse time to outwardly show her need, as that's when the front door opened, and on the other side stood a well-dressed butler. She didn't even notice that Nash had knocked. "My apologies, sir, but we are not accepting unsolicited visitors at this time," the servant informed.

"S-sorry, it's just...we're wandering travelers, and we were hoping you would be willing to house us for the night."

"The master has made his intentions clear, no uninvited guests..." The butler was repeating himself in denying Nash, but he stopped when he noticed the smaller, more distant Sierra, still as a stone. "Oh, my apologies, I was not aware that Miss Sierra was traveling with you." He stood aside, opening the path into the foyer. "Please, make yourselves comfortable."

Sierra walked in while Nash stood by, dumbfounded, at the sudden change in attitude. It was only once the door was nearly closed behind them that he was snapped back to his senses, bolting inside to catch up to the two. "Sierra, you know the person who lives in a mansion like this?"

His question went unacknowledged. "Is your master in at the moment," Sierra asked the butler.

"He has requested that he not be disturbed. However, I will be sure to inform him that the Founder has come to visit. For the time being, I'll have a room prepared for you and your..." The butler looked at Nash, his face sneering with disdain. "...mule."

"I also expect a bath and meal," Sierra demanded.

The butler bowed. "That is to be expected. Please, this way, miss." He led the way towards the quarters the two travelers would be sharing for the night.

On the walk there, Nash leaned down to Sierra, whispering to remain unheard by their host. "So, the guy who owns this place is a vampire, isn't he?"

"What gives you that impression," she replied, matching the low, breathy volume.

"They know you, by a fancy title no less, and that dismissal of me? I've heard that exact same tone from you."

"Hmph. I suppose even humans can be perceptive. There's also a signature, suffocating bloodlust in the air that follows any gathering of vampires."

"Really? I didn't notice that part."

Sierra groaned. "Then you're even denser than I thought. You can't leave your guard down around blood-sucking creeps like these."

"Self-loathing much there?"

"I only suck blood because I want to. It's totally incomparable. So don't go off on your own in this creepy place, unless you suddenly want to be sucked dry."

"Do I have to accompany you to the bath too? I have no desire to see naked grand-" He couldn't even get the insult out before Sierra knew how it would end, retaliating with a burst of magic, stinging Nash through his clothes, silencing him with nothing more than a yelp of pain.

Yet somehow, their bickering went unnoticed by the butler, or rather, he simply didn't intervene, until they reached a closed wooden door at the end of a dimly-lit hallway. "Please, make yourselves comfortable." He opened the door and guided Nash and Sierra inside, allowing them to see where they'd be staying during the night, and it certainly wasn't some forgotten side room. It was large, clean, decorated with various adornments and furniture, soft chairs, a fireplace, and one large bed. "Someone will be in to inform you when dinner or the bath is prepared. If you'll excuse me." The butler bowed and left the two alone, closing the door behind him.

Immediately, Nash ran to one of the couches, jumping into a laying-down position with a slight bounce upon impact. "Man, this place is swanky! Sure is welcome after all that time in the wilderness!"

"Don't get comfortable. I've got a hunch that tonight isn't going to be peaceful."

"With vampires? That's to be expected. So long as it's after supper, I'm starving for a good meal!"

"If I can even stay awake that long," Sierra lamented, covering her mouth with a yawn. Slowly, she stumbled over to the same couch, falling on top of Nash, eyes half-closed and mouth hanging open. "Come on, give me some energy."

Even pinned, Nash still had the strength to push her off. "I quite like my blood inside my body, thank you very much!"

Sierra was thrown off her human prey, landing on her stomach on the carpeted floor beneath. And that soft crash brought her need, forgotten in her drowsiness, back to the forefront of her attention. After all, she had yet to empty her bladder, and it was starting to get annoying. No, worse than annoying, demanding. Demanding that she find the restroom and drain herself of all those pesky liquids she had ingested.

Most would expect a mansion to be the easiest location to be having this problem. A huge home like this would have bathrooms around every corner, just go to one. If only this place wasn't so passively hostile. She wasn't kidding when she said it was dangerous to go alone in here, and even with her superior vampire powers, she was outnumbered and exhausted. So, unless she asked Nash to come with her to the bathroom, like a little girl, it simply wasn't safe to follow the logical, easy solution.

Nope, she'd need to just hold it. Hopefully, sleeping would make the time go by faster, quick enough that the events of the night to come would pass by before the desperate need became unbearable. Pushing herself up to her feet, Sierra trudged to the bed, crashing onto the soft mattress, face down and suffocating in the quilt. "I expect you to be punctual in visiting me, Rean," she slurred, muffled through the blanket.

\---------------

It was dark when they arrived, but now, it was pitch-black outside. In the intervening time, they had been served a wonderfully prepared dinner, and Sierra had left the room in a huff when Nash began flirting with the maid tending to them, leading to a long, warm, and lonely bath. Now, she had returned to her permanent spot of the bed, currently wishing she had dealt with the disgusting implications and just peed in the bath. Would have saved her the pain she was experiencing now.

It was so bad, in fact, that she couldn't even sleep, an outcome she couldn't have imagined before now. Instead, she was laying on her back, hands folded above her stomach, attempting to focus on the ceiling instead of her body. It wasn't working. All she could picture now was her overfilled bladder, pulsating and bursting at the seams. Leaks of any magnitude had yet to manifest, a testament to her willpower, but she couldn't shake the disastrous mental image of the white clothes she wore beneath her blue cape rapidly turning a darker color.

And then there was what laid beyond the door giving her cause for worry. Much like a child terrified of the monsters that lurked in the night, Sierra was kept awake by what she thought laid just outside their room. Yes, the denizens of the mansion were fellow vampires, but she had no misconception about their friendliness, or rather, lack thereof. So close to her kind, after everything that had happened with the Moon Rune, there'd be an assault soon, enough reason to be on edge.

Could she wait it out? No, no chance, she knew. There was no telling how long the vampires would wait before beginning their attack, meanwhile, it was absolutely evident there wasn't much time before this bed was soaked in her urine. And getting into a fight right now could only end in disaster. So, all she could do was run out to the bathroom before anything bad could leap for her. But, alone, on the toilet? That was the worst place to be interrupted.

"I'm...so what do I do now?" Her teeth were clenched and her legs rubbed against one another, shifting the blankets around, catching them between her knees, adding them to the creation of friction agitating and burning her smooth legs. The strain, blood flushing across her cheeks as her body turned hot beneath the sheets, sweat rolling from her forehead and down her thighs. She hadn't even noticed, until she felt the dampness beneath her waist. "Ah, no no no...oh, right. Haven't leaked yet." It was very telling that she almost believed her bladder had given up.

If she was confined to this bedroom, what were her options? Her mind was first drawn to the window, just balance a squat on the windowsill and do it out into the night. Unfortunately, that window simply would not open, they had tried. Even the advice from the maid accomplished nothing. Guess the owners took every measure to ensure she couldn't escape. There was an empty vase in the room, she had noted, but it was clearly for decoration only. That's why it was on a high shelf, out of reach. Hell, at this point, Sierra even weighed the possibilities of cutting her losses and spraying down a corner, but "spray" was the correct word. She had to pee bad, on a hard wooden floor, it'd be loud, cacophonous, deafening, it was sure to wake Nash in time to see her disgracing herself to the highest degree.

That was the first time a new consideration had appeared. "Nash." Her head rolled, turning her gaze over to Nash, confined to sleeping on the couch. Was he really her only means of escaping this drenched fate? Wake him up, demand he accompany her to the bathroom, and have him serve as lookout while she did her business. If she could even trust him to serve as a competent line of defense. Not that she trusted her panties to serve as adequate defense should she not rely on him, but what was the better of two terrible choices? Honestly, she couldn't tell.

She was hesitant, extremely so, until her extremely pained bladder hit her again with a vengeance, making its mark with a sudden, searing, localized agony. She had been stroking her legs, but now she had to squeeze them together right at the crotch, forcing them with as much pressure as she could muster, to counter the internal pressure working overtime to turn external. The strain put Sierra in such a trance, she couldn't even tell who was succeeding. No doubt she could feel moisture around her sensitive parts, but it could be either sweat or urine. The only certainty was, if she had to push herself to that limit again, it was guaranteed to be urine next time.

"Ggghghgh, do I even have a choice?" Like it or not, Nash was the only available alternative to wetting herself. Both were undesirable, conclusions to her predicament that should have been far below her, but when push came to shove, she'd rather be dry. "Hey! Nash!" Her shout echoed through the large, dead room, yet even letting the call sit, Nash didn't stir. "Damn it, how the hell can you sleep through that? Don't you need to be alert for attacks? Nash! NASH!"

Only through that louder cry was Nash pulled back into the waking world. He propped his head up, looking at Sierra with tired, irritated eyes. "What?! What's so important that you need to wake me up?!"

"You are coming with me to the restroom, right this second." There was no shame, it was a demand, a simple statement, an unequivocal truth. "And I'm not going to stand for any slowness on your part."

Out of it, having just been forcibly awakened, Nash was silent for a minute while the request sunk in, leaving Sierra squirming under the blankets in the meanwhile. Eventually, while his vampire roommate was struggling to stay dry, begging for a response, he reacted. "Ha...hahahahaha! Oh, the mighty Sierra, the vampire vastly superior to humans, is too afraid of the dark to go to the bathroom by herself? Oh, I couldn't have made that up if I tried!"

Sierra, face already crimson from the effort of holding, couldn't get any redder in her anger. And the worst part was, despite how much she wanted to, she couldn't formulate a retort. He wasn't wrong. The reason she wasn't going alone was because she was worried about being attacked. Not by some nameless, imaginary monster, the threat was very real, but the concept was similar. Too similar for her liking.

The two conceptions were so similar, in fact, that she lost her will to fight back. She couldn't rely on being threatening enough to will Nash to do her bidding, not with him laughing at her, so she couldn't win a verbal argument. Instead, in a stunning display of uncharacteristic timidity, her voice fell into close to a whisper, only audible thanks to the dead of the night offering no background noise, even the wind being silent. "Yes. Please, help."

Nash's laughing stopped in an instant, and he almost fell off the couch in shock. Sierra acting...humble? Ladylike? Dependent? The surprises were just never-ending tonight. The sad way she was begging, asking for his assistance, there was only one way he could take it. "After everything you've done to me? No. Take care of it yourself." He laid back down, rolling to face the back of the couch to prevent eye contact between the two.

Sierra would take that opportunity to kill Nash, if she was even able. It was all she could manage to avoid an accident, fingertips digging deep, through her underwear, to put everything she had into physically holding, because internal muscles were starting to falter. A trickle of urine slipped out of her bladder, and only clenching herself kept it from leaking into her panties. Soon, there'd be too much of a flood behind the dam to possibly expect success. She only had one chance to convince Nash before there would no longer be a point. "What do I need to do to get you to agree? Promise to stop insulting you? Take you along for the rest of my adventure? Take my top off? I'm begging you, what do I need to do?!" Her voice cracked, giving away how choked up she was getting over this plight.

It was a lucky break, because the sound of a girl crying awoke something in Nash. He wasn't the chivalrous type, it had nothing to do with being an honorable man, but something a lot more personal. "Julie..." Against his logical judgment, he jumped to his feet with a spring, approaching Sierra in her bed. "Fine, I'll help. Get up."

She wasn't surprised at the assistance, considering how she was requesting it, and she was the kind of woman who got what she wanted. Problem was, it was no longer enough. "I...I can't move."

"I'm not carrying you again." Rolling his eyes, he reached out and yanked her blankets down past her feet, exposing the delicate way her legs were folded over one another. Wearing nothing more than a gown, nearly all of her legs visible, as she shook and squeaked under the stress, hands covering her private area, lips parted and eyes closed. If only she hadn't constantly mistreated him over the last few days, it might have been a pleasant image. Instead, he merely groaned in disdain, reaching out and forcefully grabbing her shoulders and pulling her out of bed, standing her up straight. "You can walk on your own."

Sierra wasn't so sure. The sudden, involuntary change in posture wrought havoc on her bladder. A jump like that, no one could ride that out without any side effects. The pee that had been attempting to spurt out finally had an opening. A small, warm drop of urine spread across a small portion of her womanhood, jolting her to attention, with her eyes shooting open, and one of her fangs piercing into her bottom lip.

All of a sudden, she had a rush of adrenaline coursing through every vein in her body. After all, while her life didn't depend on running to the toilet, her clothes definitely did, and that was just as imperative in her mind. Her muscles, previously locked up across her entire person, simultaneously loosened, allowing her to bolt from the room, grabbing Nash's hand and dragging him along, faster than he could keep up.

As a creature of the night, the total lack of illumination did nothing to inconvenience Sierra, she was able to keep footing and turn corners with no missteps. That was one variable taken care of cleanly, but the other was still a major obstacle; as her first time in this mansion, she had no clue where the bathroom was. She knew where the bath was, but that room had no toilet. She was navigating blind, and with no outward indicator of the room each door housed, she had nothing to work off of. "Where the hell's the toilet?!"

"Stop pulling! It's right there!" Without even processing what Nash had shouted at her, Sierra stopped just because he shouted, only stopping to think as she skidded to a halt. She looked in every direction, frantic like prey on the run from a predator, and was indeed greeted with a door.

Reaching out to the doorknob, slow enough to appear as fear, she turned the handle and pushed the door in. And while it was shrouded in shadow, she could make out that it was indeed a toilet. "How did you know this was it? I told you not to leave the room alone!"

"Is now really the right time to be going after me? You're leaking."

That shut Sierra up real fast, and in the vacuum of silence, she heard the last of her strength breaking. And it sounded like light drops of liquid falling into the carpet. Only then did she realize, just how warm and wet her crotch had gotten while she wasn't paying attention. Nash was right, she was out of time, to the minute. There was literally zero time to argue, leaving her with no choice but to turn around and run into the bathroom, reaching an arm back to slam the door shut behind her.

Alone in a dark room hardly bigger than a closet, Sierra was faced with the open toilet. Honestly, she was a lot luckier than most in this situation. Centuries ago, while she still lived in human civilization, toilets weren't a thing that had been invented yet. And the Blue Moon Village, in the middle of the forest, was not privy to their luxury once they had become commonplace. She had used them more recently, when she slept in inns while venturing to visit the humans, but she had never developed an instinctual demand to void her bladder while in the facility's presence.

Unfortunately, it meant nothing, when her bladder was about to drain of its own volition. The one hand that had yet to let go of her groin registered a growing warmth on the palm, and it wasn't stopping. "Ngh, nn, n-no..." What horrible timing it would be to wet herself with only one step left to go, an ironic fate she couldn't allow to pass. "I'm gonna whiz if it kills me!" With her hand already gripping her underwear, it was a simple matter to pull them down around her knees. It wasn't easy, pulling on one point in the middle was a lot more awkward than pulling from the sides, and a lot more wet, but the same result was basically accomplished.

A mere second later, she dropped her butt onto the toilet seat, getting lucky with her skirt being pressed up by the seat, instead of getting caught between her rear and the porcelain. It wouldn't have mattered, the fear of further soaking her clothes held no power, not against her muscles pushed to the brink of exhaustion. She needed to pee, and it was happening now.

Soon enough, the room was reverberating the low sound of a powerful torrent of urine slamming against the inner bowl of the toilet, the sheer force and forward angle causing an impact above the lingering water. It didn't matter, either way, it'd be loud, deafening even. It was amazing that Sierra could even hear her own thoughts over the waterfall cacophony.

She would have been able to guess her thoughts regardless, there wasn't much complexity or nuance. "Ooooooohhhhh, that's wonderful..." Her head fell in a heavy sigh, maybe more like a moan, as she shuddered in relief, sending the angle of her pee stream haywire. Her knees turned inwards as she released the tension her body had been unintentionally carrying, allowing her urine to flow out at an even heavier rate, with the speed to propel it directly into the water. The result was an tenfold increase in volume, ensuring any noise she made could never be heard. And she couldn't help but make full use of that happy little benefit. "Haaaaahhhhh, I've never had to go that bad before, and I never want to again...but this feels so good."

Yes, the relief washing over her body was wonderful, a fantastic type of ecstasy she rarely felt without a man keeping her company, covering the skin on her arms and legs with goosebumps. She couldn't help it, she moaned again, a long, drawn-out moan with rising and falling pitch and tone. It lasted so long, it outlasted the rush of water quieting to a trickle, making her unseemly and immodest sounds audible, probably throughout the rest of the mansion. It didn't stop her, of course, but she took care not to repeat it once the moan ended naturally.

Shortly afterwards, her bladder ran dry, reducing her output to lingering, broken drops falling irregularly to join with their brethren, before ending completely with nary a splash to stimulate her ears. "Phew, happy I'm good enough to wait long enough," she boasted, ripping off some nearby toilet paper and drying herself off. Not just her crotch, but the small traces down her legs too. And soaking up a little of the moisture drenched into her underwear, where very little could be done. The white garment was badly tinged by the color of a vampire's urine, dyed a red hue by the blood diet. She'd just have to live with the gross warmth permanently cradling her privates. The thought occurred to her that it might be a little exciting to ditch the panties, but in a skirt like hers around a man like Nash? Trouble waiting to happen.

Speaking of Nash, he was ostensibly still waiting outside, standing guard to buy time for her to do her business. Hopefully he hadn't been abducted while she was preoccupied, a fact she wasn't too sure of herself, expecting to be met with no one as she opened the door to leave back into the hallway. Of course, there was no need to be concerned, if she even was, as Nash was standing right there, leaning against the wall to the side of the door. "You know, it's really difficult to listen out for attackers while you're making a racket in there," he criticized.

"I can't help it. Women like me get very excitable and loud. Definitely not the first time I've moaned like thaaaaa..." Sierra's voice trailed off as she wobbled in her stance, falling over and relying on Nash's frame to keep her upright. "Great, I'm still exhausted and now I'm dehydrated." She looked up at his face, looking down at her with confusion as to what she was doing, a confusion she was happy to clear up, baring her fangs. "You know what would solve both problems?"

Rolling his eyes with a disdainful sigh, Nash pushed Sierra off, letting her fall to the floor. It wasn't so bad, her fall was broken by the carpet. "I don't know how you expect me to protect you if you insist on keeping me malnourished."

"Who says I need you to protect me? You have no idea what secrets I'm hiding or what I'm capable of."

"That's nice. You're still human. You stand no chance against vampires actively out for your blood."

"I seem to have been holding my own so far."

"You're lucky I'm the worst you've had to deal with. Hell, you're lucky to have me around, period. You're never going to find a better..." Once again, her voice trailed off, this time because of something else pulling her attention away. "I know I was more concerned with other matters, but...how did I miss this much bloodlust in the air? I sensed it before, but this is a whole other level."

With his attention drawn to it, Nash began looking around, diverting all his senses towards feeling the atmosphere. "Now that you mention it, there certainly is quite the heavy stench of danger." He reached into his coat, pulling out a small, card-sized sheet of paper. "I'm prepared."

"With one talisman? Good luck with that."

"I don't need you wishing for me, I've got enough luck as it is."

"Well then, let's see how far your luck carries you." Sierra readied herself for a fight, while Nash prepared his hidden arsenal of weapons. Their night was far from over, a fact Sierra quietly lamented. "I hope you're prepared to see us, Rean."


	4. Blades of Water's Veil

Fredegund of Astrasia was wandering the halls of the large Castle Ratselhaft, poking her head around, worry splayed across her face. She had only been in this castle for a week, after all, its many rooms and four floors were foreign to her. Very recently, she had been a part of the Order of the One True Way, its message of finding peace in the one predetermined path giving her hope after her lowest moment of losing her home of Pharamond. It was only after a duel with her pride and joy older sister, Chrodechild, that awakened her sensibilities, her connection to the legendary Divine Edge, and her desire to see justice prevailed. That's why she joined Viele Wege Company in opposition to the Order. And to be closer to her sister once again.

She was unable to get that second wish. The two had a little time to reconnect as the Company stationed itself in Pharamond when they recaptured the city, when Fredegund was brought to the ways of the Starbearers, but it couldn't last. Chrodechild, along with Liu and their leader Sieg, had been pulled into a Gateway when archivists of the Order snuck into Pharamond to steal the Chronicles, and nothing had been heard from them since. The Company returned to Ratselhaft to await their return, now that Pharamond was no longer safe, and while everyone said they weren't giving up hope for Sieg, Liu, and Chrodechild's return, there was this air of discomfort about it, like they were denying the truth they could all see.

However, that wasn't the reason Fredegund was worried right now. She just wasn't thinking about it; if she did, she'd break down and become useless. No, the problem now was that Fredegund was lost. She was too afraid to ask for a tour around the castle, and with so many rooms, trying to find one specific room was like finding a needle in a haystack. As such, she spent most of the prior week sitting quietly in the quarters of Chrodechild's Blades of Night's Veil, Meruvis and Roberto not knowing how to approach her.

However, every once in a while, she would need to venture out to search for one specific location: the restroom. Fredegund was capable in the field, but her bladder wasn't bottomless. A massive castle like this had to have a bathroom somewhere, but Fredegund had yet to find it, and couldn't build up the courage to ask. Each time she made the journey out to find relief, she'd check another wing, in the hopes it would finally have the closet she was looking for.

By now, she was starting to doubt there even was one. It had been a week now, three checks a day before she got sick of searching and instead ran outside to use the cover of Flesaria Forest as her toilet. Given how many failures her hunts had produced, she could only surmise that each of the Starbearers was doing the same. It wasn't like she wasn't used to relieving herself in a natural environment, it was just a little less than ideal. But when Fredegund needed it as bad as she currently did, it was still a perfect alternative.

Thankfully, there was no one visible in the forest directly outside the castle's entrance archway. Fredegund didn't see the need to wander far, lest she get lost, so long as she hid behind the flora enough to hide her actions. Not to mention, she didn't want to suffer with her bladder for longer than necessary. Squirming, wiggling her hips, she gingerly placed one hand over the crotch of her pants and briskly walked over to the nearby bushes and ferns.

She reached the patch of soil that would soon become her bathroom, hooking her thumbs over the waistband of her pants, ready to pull them down. That is, until she heard the sound of multiple pairs of boots trampling the path up to the castle. This would ordinarily be enough reason for Fredegund to halt her actions, she wasn't okay with anyone besides her sister seeing her pee, even if they couldn't see the details. Well, that's exactly what happened. As the mystery people approached past the treeline separating their views of each other, Fredegund could see their identities. Aside from one young adult male and a young woman, both with pale skin and tattooed lines over their bodies, the rest were easily identifiable. Sieg, Liu (with tattoos of his own now), and... "Sister!"

Chrodechild jumped in surprise at the exclamation, not used to hearing Fredegund's voice after years apart. She also couldn't have predicted her sister charging her, arms spread wide, the bottom corners of her eyes growing moist. "Sister, you've returned!" She jumped onto Chrodechild with a hug, the elder sister only just able to hold her ground. "I didn't know if you would return!"

"There's no reason to be so sad, Fredegund," Chrodechild comforted, awkwardly petting her sister's head, buried in her chest. "We can't disappear yet, not when there's still work to do."

"Yeah, no one can decide when we die besides ourselves," Sieg boasted. "Liu, gather everyone in the Grand Hall, we've got a plan!"

"We do?" Whatever Sieg had in his head, Liu wasn't clued in. "Alright, I'm sure everyone will want to know what happened to us anyway. Be up soon!" Liu and the new guys ran inside, Sieg following quickly after.

Just as soon as everyone returned, Chrodechild and Fredegund were alone. "I was really worried about you, sister," Fredegund choked out, not entirely successfully choking back tears.

"You give yourself too little credit. You don't need me. You're plenty able to handle yourself."

"That's not true! When I was alone, that's when the Order was able to wriggle their way into my heart. I need someone to be a pillar for me."

"You're stronger than you think. A weak woman wouldn't be able to put up a fight against the commander of the Blades of Night's Veil."

"But you always beat me. You're what I aspire to be, but when I look at you, I can see how far I have to go."

"It only looks so far because you always look down on yourself. If you were to raise your head proudly, you'd see just how truly close to me you are." Chrodechild didn't expect herself to say something so eloquent, more befitting of her title as Princess of Astrasia. As such, there was a long silence, where neither of the sisters could properly follow that statement. "We should hurry and make our way to the Grand Hall. I imagine the rest of the Starbearers are anxiously awaiting the tale of our escape from the Gateway."

"Y-yes, we should," Fredegund concurred. With nothing more to say, they climbed the stairs into the castle in silence.

Only as the greens of nature were swallowed by the entranceway behind them was Fredegund reminded why she embarked outdoors in the first place. "Mmph!" Her bladder reminded her harshly with a wave of desperation what she was interrupted from at the last second, and how well-timed that little break would have been. She needed to go, no question about it. A part of her wanted to run back out to take care of business before it became unmanageable.

"Is something bothering you, Fredegund?" The gentle voice of Chrodechild was the only reason she didn't follow through.

That's right, she had no reason to be embarrassed, not with her sister here. She could ask where the true bathroom was without fear of revealing a private part of any woman's life, and if there was none, there'd be no shame in admitting she needed to step outside for a few minutes. Like she said, Chrodechild was her pillar, her anchor to strength.

But first things first, there was the gathering in the Grand Hall, something she didn't want to be late for, nor did she want to hold up her sister from attending the same event. "Nothing to be concerned about."

"If you insist." The two started the long climb up four stories of stairs to reach the Grand Hall, exertion that elicited another complaint from Fredegund's bladder. She now had to hope the meeting wouldn't take long.

\---------------

"Perhaps coming here without a break was a poor idea," Chrodechild quietly lamented as she stood on the stage of the Grand Hall, having all eyes on her meaning she couldn't press her legs together for relief. After all, she hadn't relieved herself since last night, giving more than enough time for bladder to fill once more. Her training prevented her from noticing the niggling discomfort until it became really distressing, as it had now. She could have afforded arriving a minute late in order to do her business first.

But what's done is done, she didn't use the bathroom, and now she was holding pee in front of all the Starbearers. She wasn't concerned with not being able to hold it, she could handle a little urine, but it would be a problem if this meeting took forever. Considering how much detail Sieg was delving into, regaling everyone with the tale of their being marooned in the Woodland Village of the Scribes, it could be a long time before Chrodechild was dismissed.

Eventually, the lecture turned from story-telling into the strategy of their next move. The plan in progress didn't involve retrieving the Chronicles that the Order stole from them, but instead was concentrated on protecting the now-defenseless Pharamond, especially with the Auster forces gathering in the nearby Fort Arc. "Split up into teams of four," Sieg ordered, "and we'll get right going through the Gateway to Pharamond!"

"Fredegund and I will be on the front lines," Chrodechild declared.

"Y-you would trust me with such a delicate task," Fredegund asked from the audience.

"We will accompany you as well, Lady Chrodechild," Meruvis declared. "It is only appropriate that the Blades of Night's Veil lead the vanguard in defending our home."

"Yeah, we can't let these guys keep overshadowing us," Roberto boasted.

Chrodechild nodded, with a proud smile on her face. "I thank you all, for standing beside me."

Unfortunately, despite her team now being ready, she couldn't leave just yet, not before official dismissal. Everyone else had to prepare their parties first, Sieg taking his friends from Citro Village, Diulf taking his retainers of the Furious Roar, the Porpos-kin banding together, now everyone was prepared. "Excellent, I'll give you all the chance to ready your equipment, and then we'll move out," Chrodechild suggested. This would serve as the perfect opportunity to relieve herself in the confusion.

"Vaslof's already at Fort Arc, we don't have much time," Liu warned.

Diulf puffed out his chest in pride. "The Tribe of the Furious Roar doesn't need to prepare! Our bodies provide us all the strength we need!"

"The blessings of Ninulneda will carry us into battle," Neira shouted with similar pride.

"Me and Jale have kept our armaments updated," Marica informed Sieg.

"Oh no..." Chrodechild needed that break, if everyone else threw the chance away, she couldn't be the one person saying otherwise. Almost every team had spoken, all that was left was her Blades of Night's Veil. She looked at them, hoping they'd pick up the hint.

"Lady Chrodechild, you should know we are always ready to move out at a moment's notice." Meruvis didn't catch the subtlety.

Now Chrodechild had no recourse, she had to enter battle with a filling bladder. Not unless she wanted to make a scene of asking for a minute herself, when it was a known fact, at least to Sieg and Liu, that she was equipped properly herself. She had no legitimate, non-revealing reason to refuse, so she couldn't. "Then we move to Pharamond!" A shout of soldiers at the ready filled the Grand Hall.

However, outside of attention, Fredegund was worried, bouncing on one heel. "Bad move, sister..."

\---------------

The Wilds of Veile to the northeast of Pharamond, practically a desert to rival the one surrounding the Magedom. The Order's forces, augmented by the Auster Folk, wandered the paths, providing more than enough obstacles for the Company. The teams had long since split up, leaving only the Blades of Night's Veil visible to Fredegund.

Not that she was paying much attention to the battle happening all around them. While it was bad form, to say the least, to get distracted while in the midst of an important conflict such as this, she really couldn't help it. She had to go really bad. It was all she could do to not grab herself so openly, so that everyone may know her concern.

The pain was exacerbated by the knowledge that she had a second chance to use a bathroom, one she passed up again. Their Gateway took them straight through Pharamond's castle, where she could no longer use the excuse that she didn't know where the restroom was. She grew up in that castle, she knew the toilet's location exactly, they passed right by it. If she could have just spoken up, asked for a minute, this whole ordeal would have ended right there. But she couldn't get the words out, no matter how much she desired them.

This crippling shyness left her longing for her time with the Order. Not in the way that she pined for those days, not with all the horrible things she did, but because she was an entirely different person in that armor. She had thrown her past away, and her identity along with it. She wasn't a princess of Astrasia, she wasn't Chrodechild's little sister, she was just a part of the Order's plans. She could be a lot more open, she had no problem saying she was heading into the trees, her bladder gave her no troubles then. While she was happier now, what she wouldn't give for an ounce of that bravery right now.

Fredegund's gaze turned to the side, where she could see Chrodechild, looking forward with a firm, trained stare, determined not to miss anything in the field. She was the model of a proper soldier, she always had been, the ideal Fredegund could never reach. Come to think of it, one of the qualities she admired about Chrodechild was how she never seemed to need a toilet break when the situation got serious. Whether she was blessed with a larger bladder or was just far better at hiding it, either way, she wished she could have that. Meanwhile, Fredegund would always interrupt training sessions to say she needed to pee.

Would it be so different if she did the same now? Every time she had to take a break during training, Chrodechild would always sheathe her sword with a smile, encouraging her little sister to go before it got too bad. Yes, the stakes were much higher now, but would the result be any different? Would Chrodechild be willing to cover her while she did her business now?

"Where are all our opponents," Roberto complained, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword. "I'm ready to prove my strength!"

"Don't get cocky," Meruvis warned. "It's imperative we stay on our guard at all times."

"Agreed. All of us need to be focused. We are at Lord Sieg's disposal, and can't let him down. The Blades of Night's Veil are the pride of Astrasia, and we will act as such."

There was no arguing with Chrodechild, and Meruvis and Roberto submitted to their commander. "Yes, Lady Chrodechild."

"Why do you insist on denying me, sister," Fredegund whispered, adjusting her pants by pulling them higher, digging them into her crotch for relief without any need to grab herself, though she really wanted to do that too. With so much vigor in her speech, she considered that she may have misjudged Chrodechild's character. She might not be so receptive to Fredegund asking for help peeing after all, which left her no choice but to really steel herself to hold it.

Her body decided to be ironic, because just when she was determined to act like an adult and wait to use the bathroom, she leaked. It wasn't much, barely a drop in her underwear, but it was a bad sign. Fredegund was kind of a leaker, whenever she got desperate, a lot of pee tended to find its way out, and she got wet fast. Now that she had started, this was going to be one of those days, no doubt. Even in black pants, it would only be a matter of time before everyone could see her failure. Then she'd be the only one suddenly looking incompetent in a company of Starbearers that would save the world.

\---------------

"What a time to be having this problem," Chrodechild lamented under her breath, twisting her boot in the sand. She needed to relieve herself earlier, but it had jumped up significantly in the little time since. If this wasn't an important battle, she'd be practically running for cover in order to pee. But she had a role to carry out, one that wouldn't wait for her to take a detour for her bodily needs, necessitating she stay strong, despite the uncomfortable cramp beneath her stomach.

She was denying herself the relief her body screamed for in the interest of being an asset to the fight, but only now did it occur to her just how much a problem that would be should she get into a fight. She had the training and experience to hide her needs, but being only human, there was an upper limit to how much desperation she could ignore before it would negatively impact her swordsmanship. An upper limit that she had already surpassed, quite some time ago in fact. She didn't have much of a choice but to massage her thighs against one another, though through her pants, the sensation was hardly relaxing.

The thought passed through her mind to recant her previous call to action to ask Meruvis and Roberto to turn their heads so she could have a little privacy, but it was just too wishy-washy of a stance to take for the commander of the Blades of Night's Veil, even if she recognized that this stubbornness could result in her clothes needing a wash when she returned to the castle. She wanted to believe that there was a chance she could handle it, there was a slim possibility if everything worked in her favor, but she wasn't the type of woman who could latch so heartily onto a glimmer of hope with so much conspiring against her. While she could rally behind Sieg's creed of "never know until we try", she couldn't in good faith believe the same herself.

In a moment she sincerely hoped would never happen, she legitimately needed to consider what would be less damaging to her image: admitting she couldn't hold it any longer and asking her teammates to look away, or wetting her pants out of a desire to not interrupt the fight. Obviously, her human side would far rather not have an accident, but, with the climax of the Viele Wege Company's war with the Order fast approaching, now was not the time to show any kind of weakness. It became a far more equal internal debate than most would expect.

A lot of Chrodechild's mental faculties became dedicated to deciding on a suitable answer to her predicament, whatever wasn't already allocated to frequently reminding her bladder that now was not the time to empty. If she didn't have Meruvis, Roberto, and Fredegund with her, she'd be tripping over debris left and right. She also would have missed the man in white Order armor, unintentionally blocking their path, if she didn't notice her comrades stopping out of the corner of her eye.

With her attention brought back to the surroundings, though it was the very small percentage of her focus not totally occupied with not soaking herself, it took no time at all to identify the man standing before them. How could she not, this was the man who manipulated her sister into being a puppet for the Order. Fredegund wasn't happy to see him, that was certain. "Beardsley!"

Chrodechild had reason to celebrate, at least. "What a stroke of good fortune, running into you on this battlefield! I had been hoping for a reckoning for the suffering you caused to my sister!" Though, a surge of pain quickly reminded her how many fronts she was fighting battles on. "If only it wasn't now..."

"It is fortunate for me as well," Beardsley taunted, apparently not catching onto Chrodechild's struggle. After all, he was much more focused on the younger sibling. "Princess Fredegund! It is still not too late for you! You must return to the Order!"

"D-d...don't think me a fool...do you h-honestly believe I would...still listen to such drivel?!" Fredegund had aggression of her own to release, though it was fraught with stammering, wavering, and fluctuations of cadence. She didn't even sound sure about refusing the offer, a possibility that severely worried Chrodechild.

"You were supposed to accept the principles of the Order and be saved! A future of the One True Way! Perfect order and tranquility!"

There was only one way out of this, a path Chrodechild was desperately hoping would not come to pass, but if that's how it was to be, she couldn't back down. "Enough yammering, Beardsley! If you wish to spread your half-truths, you can do so in the afterlife!" She drew her half of Divine Edge and held it before her, ready to draw blood.

Fredegund followed with her Divine Edge. "And hear me! My blade will send you there!" The two sisters, followed by their Blades of Night's Veil, rushed forward to meet the Order's troops, prepared for their first fight in this terrain...though some were more able than others.

\---------------

Now was possibly the worst time for a fight. From the time she had spent with Beardsley, though he didn't like to dirty his hands, Fredegund knew he wasn't a soft fighter. She had confidence that four Blades of Night's Veil could overpower him, but it would provide a perfect opportunity for her bladder to overpower her. When she had to pee as badly as she did, as in feeling ready to explode, any fight would test her endurance, and her desire to stay dry. Or rather, her desire to not get any wetter, which still included soaked panties.

Another leak spurted out of her into her underwear. She wouldn't dare look, it might not even be visible on her black pants, but she had a very worrying hunch that the dampness was starting to extend beyond her panties. And it would only get worse the more she dawdled, this was a fight that needed to end quickly.

"Fredegund, let's defeat this sorry man quickly!" Wow, Fredegund knew she and Chrodechild were close, but perfect parity between their desires? That was new to her.

Needless to say, she wanted it too, so badly, but there was a difference between wanting it and considering it possible, and she was lacking in the latter category. "H-how do you suggest we do that? Beardsley is no pushover."

"Neither are we." Chrodechild pulled out her half of Divine Edge, nodding at her sister. So that's what she was thinking. Just her luck, the most strenuous action in her arsenal, right when she couldn't exert herself without terrible consequences. She wanted to end the encounter soon, but it would be pointless if she needed to pee herself to make it happen.

She wanted to refuse, but her sister looking at her so expectantly, fulfilling her duties in performing this move was imperative for something Chrodechild was planning. She didn't like it, it could end with a thorough drenching, but there was something more important at stake now. "L-let's do it," she followed, with incredible strain, unsheathing her own Divine Edge and holding it before her.

Beardsley saw something to be afraid of in the two Astrasian royal sisters wielding their Chronicle weapons, that he had made the mistake of challenging them. Energy circled around the sisters as their blades touched, channeling power into the swords, ready to unite and deliver a devastating show of might.

Until Fredegund faltered. The aura died out as she clenched her sword's hilt with a death grip. Every instinct was screaming at her to drop her arms and grab her crotch to stem the pounding flood crashing at the gates, yet she somehow found the resolve to resist. The wave begged and pleaded to be allowed to wreak havoc, but when it became clear that Fredegund would not relent, it calmed down. While also making it clear that the second time would not end so well for her. "S-sorry, sister. I'm ready now."

The power encircled the two once more, this time completing its path, flowing into the sisters, granting them strength beyond human ability. It did nothing to enhance Fredegund's bladder, unfortunately, meaning something other than power was flowing out of her. But it was like she was no longer in control of her actions as, without thought, she and Chrodechild leapt high into the air, adding a few flips for effect, before crashing into the ground at high velocity inches in front of Beardsley, releasing their pent-up kinetic energy in a glowing cross through the sand beneath his feet. The cross erupted in an explosion of power, consuming Beardsley as Chrodechild and Fredegund jumped back into place.

That hard landing was torture on Fredegund's exhausted body. She had a solid mass of urine expanding and stretching in the pit of her stomach, every vibration was like a cannon blast hitting the sea, when she had to suffer through the massive resulting ripples. The walls of her bladder continued to crack under the stress, squirting more dampness down below. The mere fact that she was still holding on was in and of itself a miracle, but it couldn't last forever. Her strength was sure to give out in a minute.

The dust from their unite attack settled, and Beardsley was still standing. Panting, hunched over, but still in the fight. His right eye was twitching, going mad, but he wasn't done for yet. His two subordinates had been dispatched by Meruvis and Roberto. "No...no way," Fredegund panted, practically falling to her knees herself. She had placed her bet on ending the fight with one all-out attack, draining her of all her strength and ensuring she would never be able to hold it. Now that accident would come in front of everyone.

In a fit of desperation all his own, Beardsley held his staff aloft, the tip glowing orange as he prepared to cast a powerful spell. But who would be the target? His magic was powerful, but it was single-target, only one of the Blades would take the brunt of the attack. He had the most aggression towards Chrodechild, who took Fredegund away from him, but he could also be thinking to target Meruvis or Roberto, considering them the weaker links, felling one of the team would deal more damage to morale than simply damaging their leader. Yet, as she looked around, none of the other three had the flame circle building beneath them, indicating where the magic spire would sprout.

"Fredegund!" She couldn't even place why Chrodechild called her name before she was knocked out of the way, and in that fall where time seemed to slow to a crawl, she saw it: the explosion of flames where she was standing, now erupting around Chrodechild. For a quick second, Fredegund was terrified, that she had just lost her sister in the fire. That fear only lasted for a second, as the combustion diminished, and Chrodechild was still there. Worse for wear, but still standing.

Fredegund wasn't the only one gambling her entire being on one attack. Beardsley lost his balance after draining his energy in that Mark of the Star, struggling to even stay standing. "Agh...blast it all! We, the Disciples of the One True Way, beaten a third time?!"

One of his men, somehow still conscious, began pulling him away from the field. "Your Excellency Beardsley! Please! You must fall back!"

"We will meet again, Fredegund!" With his tail between his legs, an odd expression considering it couldn't refer to the feline Furious Roar, Beardsley retreated with a limp.

"Fredegund, that is enough. There's no need to chase him. We have driven him off, and that is sufficient."

Fredegund didn't even realize how she was biting her lip in anguish until Chrodechild brought it to attention and misunderstood the reason. True, she was angry at letting Beardsley escape, but that was hardly the reason for her stress right now. In fact, Beardsley's retreat was the last thing on her mind. No, all she could think about was just how drenched her lower half was. The constant smallish leaks added up, her underwear was utterly lost, and her pants were in terrible shape to boot. If anyone took the time to look, no amount of black fabric could hide the stain. And the leaks kept coming, getting bigger.

Fredegund was having an accident. She just couldn't hold it any longer, her tortured bladder had suffered long enough and just wasn't strong enough to keep up its fight. Regardless of where she was standing, that pee was coming out. She needed to get her pants off within the next few seconds, but where? She couldn't just do it here, with people watching, but she couldn't well travel very far before emptying out completely. If she couldn't see it, she couldn't make it.

She had to relent on something, and modesty was the first to go. She couldn't throw it away, but distance wasn't quite the restricting factor it would usually be. And the only obstacle she could use in sight were the small sand dunes surrounding them, creating the short valley they were walking through. If she could cross the hill, she'd be covered, assuming no one followed her. She prayed they wouldn't as she, wordlessly and stiffly, bolted over the sand mound, sliding down the descent, very nearly falling over from the forward momentum.

By the time she crossed the summit, she was already reaching up her skirt, yanking on her button in an attempt to rip it open without going through the two-second process of properly undoing the clasp. It got her nowhere, and she needed to take a step back and do it correctly. At least her pants were loose; without the button, her pants fell down with hardly a push. What an odd sight it must have been, seeing Fredegund alone in the middle of the desert with her pants at her knees, light violently reflecting off the crotch of her pants and panties, and a healthy amount down her thighs to boot. The light flowing stream falling directly down even now certainly wasn't pretty either.

She didn't even care how humiliating it looked, and was. Operating entirely on animalistic instinct, she hooked her thumbs around her underwear and shoved them down, freeing the path of her pee to start arcing forward in a wide spray as her bladder lost all semblance of holding. "No no no, not yet," she pleaded, quickly shifting her balance down as she propped herself in a squat, positioned so her torrent of pee could shoot forward between her boots, carrying the sand it struck down the slope, creating a golden, flooding river.

\---------------

"What is she thinking, just running off without a word," Chrodechild complained, chasing her sister over the dune. And she had clamped her hands together to press them against the front of her pants in the process. She needed to do it, she had to pee so bad, that physical impediment was the last line of defense between her clothes and a thorough soaking. Truthfully, she had her own reasons for wanting the fight with Beardsley over with as quickly as possible, to avoid the strain on her bladder trying to hold in an ocean of urine during combat. She had the experience to say that wasn't a pleasant thing to try.

As she crossed the peak, all confusion over Fredegund's odd actions all day were suddenly clarified, for she found Fredegund, with her back turned to her, squatting in the sand with her pants down, a river of yellow gushing out, just barely visible in the small gap between the sand and her exposed butt. It was much more audible than visual, the flowing water and Fredegund's sighing and moaning.

It was a cacophony of noises that Chrodechild did not need to hear right now. The sounds were sending her own bladder into overdrive, pulsating in a desperate attempt to void its contents. And it was succeeding. She had done a remarkable job staying bone dry this whole time, but maintaining that streak was an impossibility. Suddenly, she reeled back and froze as she felt a surge of warmth in her underwear. Chrodechild was the kind of girl that went all at once, so if some pee was forcing its way out, the rest would all come pouring in seconds. She could hardly criticize her sister for stopping to use the bathroom, not when she herself was now forced to do the same thing.

And she had very little time to prepare. She made a frantic beeline to a spot directly left of Fredegund, making sure not to step further and walk into the rapidly expanding puddle. With her footing secured in the loose sand, she quickly undid the latch on her pants, spreading her feet apart as the piece of clothing fell to the top of her boots, just below the knee. Soon after, her panties were thrown down to the same spot. Spreading her womanhood with her fingers, telling her bladder it was time to drain was an effortless task, and her own golden stream flew out, extra distance afforded thanks to the higher starting point compared to Fredegund.

That second pee got Fredegund's attention, who hadn't even noticed that her personal space had been intruded upon until now. Her head jolted to check, and seeing her older sister's most private body part doing something so private so close to her caused a blush to break out over her cheeks. "W-what are you doing, sister?!"

"I could ask the same of you, but I imagine the answer would be the same between us: I simply couldn't wait any longer."

"Y-yes..." She couldn't say anything more, give any proper explanation for her actions. Instead, she looked back at her own work, watching the puddle expand into its own pond as it slowly seeped between the grains of sand. "Haah...haaaaaaaah..." Maybe it was for the best that she didn't attempt to hold a conversation, or else it would be constantly punctuated with her own moans of relief.

And while it was awkward to listen to, Chrodechild couldn't help but follow suit. "Mmph..." Their sighs were the only things drowning out the splashing noises of their urine, so maybe it was for the best that they were making noises. After all, they hadn't wandered far from Meruvis and Roberto. Still, just leaving it to nature made the situation very awkward, and Chrodechild had a question to ask. "The last week has been too hectic to allow me many chances to relieve myself. How did you end up so desperate?"

"Oh, I..." Fredegund had an answer, just a really embarrassing one, she'd rather not let that little mishap come to light. But she couldn't exactly lie to her sister, either. "Truth be told, I've been unable to find the restroom in Castle Ratselhaft, and I've been too ashamed to ask for directions. Accepting that I need to venture outdoors is risky with so many Starbearers in the castle to see."

"That's an understandable worry. I'll be sure to give you a proper tour when we return."

"Thank you, sister." Fredegund was beginning to empty out, her stream reduced to a lighter equivalent, and the knowledge that she was close to the conclusion calmed her nerves. That relative serenity was the first time she truly noticed how...unusually Chrodechild was relieving herself. "I understand if you refuse, but I'd be grateful if you also taught me how to...urinate standing up, as you are doing now."

"Yes, this is a skill I picked up shortly after we were separated. It's come in handy a number of times. I'd be happy to share the technique, but be warned that it will take a lot of practice."

"I'm willing to put in the effort. This incident only proves how much training I still require before I reach a presentable level."

"...I understand that you want to talk seriously, so could you please redress yourself before doing so?" Chrodechild had a point, while she had finished her business, Fredegund had yet to pull her pants back up. She was hesitant to do so, with not so much a leaf to wipe herself dry with, until she realized how little it would accomplish with her underwear still soaked. If she dried herself off, she'd only be getting wet again once her panties were in their proper place. So, with no desire to slide them off and leave them in the desert, she pulled the drenched black garment up, wincing as the warm fabric touched her sensitive area.

Though, she wasn't the only one who'd be suffering with wet underwear. As Chrodechild's pee wound down, she no longer had the power to direct the stream past her pants, and it instead fell straight down into her panties, joining the small collection of drops that simply dropped while their brethren jetted out correctly. Such were the disadvantages of being female, and she'd have to live with it, accepting the discomfort as her pants were pulled back to their normal resting spot, with the button fastened to keep them there. "Now then, you were saying something?"

"Never mind. It's just demeaning to know that it's always been like this for us. You always cleanly made it to the restroom, and I was always having accidents. I mean, aside from that one time you took pity on me..."

"When I let you go first? You interpreted that as pity?"

"Of course I did, you only allowed me the privilege because you felt sorry for always doing better than me."

"Well...yes, I did feel sorry about it. Because I'm your older sister." Chrodechild closed the distance, looking down to ensure she didn't step in Fredegund's puddle, and stroked her younger sibling's long hair. "I don't see any reason I couldn't sacrifice my own chance at release because you needed it as well."

"W-was that really the reason?"

"Do you think me a dishonest woman?"

"O-of course not, sister! It's just...it's nice to hear that. I only wish we didn't have to settle for one of us wetting ourselves."

Chrodechild smiled warmly, an uncommon sight for the trained soldier. Only Fredegund could elicit such an emotion. "I have no qualms with relieving ourselves together, now that we won't often be limited to a single-occupancy restroom. That is, if you can cope with not having the same privacy you're used to."

"I...I appreciate the support, sister. It wouldn't be the first time we did so in plain view of one another, though it has been some time." There were plenty of childhood stories to tell regarding that, ones that both had agreed should not be told. "Having you with me will make it less worrying to admit the need on the battlefield."

"Speaking of, we should return quickly. Lord Sieg is counting on us to fulfill our allotted role." Fredegund nodded in agreement, and the two turned back the direction they came, where the rest of the party was ostensibly still waiting for their return. However, they had only taken one step before Chrodechild stopped them by leaning into her sister's ear with a whisper. "Don't be ashamed about needing to go at an inappropriate time. It happens to all of us." The way she said it implied one mortifying story behind the reassurance. Fredegund was suddenly intensely curious.

As they crossed the dune, their bodies blocking the sun attracted the attention of Meruvis and Roberto. "Lady Chrodechild, please don't just run off without any explanation," Meruvis warned.

"My apologies, Meruvis. There were sudden feminine troubles that needed attending to immediately."

"Well, please don't be so careless again. We still have a job to do."

"I understand that. I won't cause trouble again," Fredegund guaranteed.

"Then let the Blades of Night's Veil recommence their assault," Chrodechild inspired, holding her sword aloft. "Let the Order understand why the Magedom was to be feared with us as their ally, and why the Viele Wege Company is to be feared now!" A cheer from her comrades followed, and the four resumed their march. Fredegund in particular had a newfound confidence in her step, not just because she was no longer carrying a full bladder, but because she had her sister by her side, in all the intimate ways they once shared. An unstoppable duo such as that could write their own destinies, no matter what the One King wished.

Though, one worry still ate away at Fredegund. The sounds of battle were distant. The wind was quiet. With her and Chrodechild peeing so close to the party...they were heard. There was no way they weren't heard. Everyone knew what Fredegund needed to do so desperately.


	5. Blinking and Tinkling

The musty, dusty halls of the dilapidated Budehuc Castle were bustling with the busy footsteps of dozens of residents, both Zexen and Grassland in origin, all with plenty of important tasks to attend to. Ever since the new master of the castle, Thomas, opened up the town to commerce from all over, Budehuc had become the headquarters of a rising rebellion against Harmonia, one that had only become more frantic with the appearance of a new Flame Champion. Clearly, the battle against Harmonia and the mysterious Masked Bishop was ramping up.

But that didn't mean every Star of Destiny was mobilizing. Some had jobs to perform within the castle, such as the wielder of the Blinking Rune, Viki. Her magic was invaluable to an army constantly seeking new recruits, teleporting a party anywhere in the countryside, but when no one had need of her services, she had nothing to do but stand idly by in the castle foyer.

"Ah...aah....ACHOO!" She rubbed her nose with the hanging sleeve on her forearm, surprised to find she remained in the same location as before the sneeze. "Oh, I might finally be getting better at controlling this teleportation!" Considering the number of failures she'd had in...however many years she had been doing this, the thought was assuring. "Maybe I'll finally get to enjoy the victory feast this time..."

The excitement didn't last long, however, and Viki soon found herself nodding off, leaning on her Wow Wow Wand, which was actually a staff, to stay upright. Her eyelids grew heavy and her head fell, her jaw fell to gravity's influence, and a drop of drool flowed over her bottom lip. "Oh, Riou, this feast looks delicious," she mumbled.

However, just before she drifted into slumber, a spike from down below shook her back to the waking world. "Eep!" She stayed perfectly still for a second, hoping it was just a one-time surge, but when it continued at the same ferocity, she slowly pressed her legs together, lifting her toes and balancing on her heels. "That snuck up on me. Ooh, this is kinda bad..." While Anne in the castle tavern had, for whatever reason, refused to serve Viki alcohol, she had still drank her fair share of juice. Juice that had trickled its way down south, ready for release.

"Mmph...I really need to go...maybe I could take a small break." After all, it's not like she was being requested at the moment, the chances that her teleportation magic would be needed while she was out relieving herself were low.

Unfortunately, there was one little niggling concern that caused her to hesitate; she hadn't been at Budehuc Castle for long, having only just been found in the mountains outside Caleria and invited to the castle. She just hadn't been around long enough to find the bathroom, so up until now, she had simply "made good use" of the nearby lake.

It was hardly the most elegant solution to her reoccurring bodily need, but she had sort of gotten used to that kind of inconvenience. Immediately before this, fifteen years ago, Dunan Castle was just so big and hard to navigate, it was crazy to expect her to find the bathroom in that place. And right before that, three years prior, Toran Castle's mere one bathroom for each gender, with 108 Stars of Destiny using them, Viki just had a hard time waiting in line long enough. "Wait...did I get those backwards? Which one had the statue? And which one had Tir?"

Pondering and lightly squirming in open view, Viki was able to watch Viki descend down the stairway at the center of the foyer. Not herself, but a young girl also named Viki, wearing an almost identical white robe, with the same blue and yellow color coordination, the same long black hair, a wand with a similar head to her own, and her own mastery over the Blinking Rune. What an odd coincidence. "Hello, Viki! Have you had a good day in the library?"

The question came just as Little Viki stepped down onto the floor, saving her the pain and embarrassment of falling down the stairs as she jumped in surprise upon hearing her name. Only once she had extended her arms for balance and made absolute sure she wasn't going to fall over did she sigh in relief and look over at her older self. "It was productive, yes. It's helpful to have current records of the events transpiring, as opposed to relying on second-hand reports."

Elder Viki smiled. "Keep up that studious attitude, and you'll be a great magician like me someday!"

Little Viki's face fell. "That's exactly what I'm working to avoid," she mumbled as an aside.

Elder Viki didn't hear that, and continued onwards with her cheerful attitude. "So, you think now's a good time for a break from all that reading? I know, it's really hard to concentrate for that long, I always had the hardest time remembering all those words. Er, at least, I think I did..."

"Yes, now seemed a proper time for a rest," Little Viki interrupted, careful to not let her adult counterpart start rambling in confusion. "There are...other matters I should attend to," she whispered, gently placing both hands on the front of her dress, directly atop her crotch. Her left foot raised to rest on nothing but its toes, twisting her shoe into the stone flooring.

Even while reading, Little Viki remained acutely aware of her bladder condition. As she flipped past each page, she felt every drop of juice filter through her system and complete their journey in a growing pool in her bladder. Yet, no matter how urgent the need became, she remained in her seat. After all, even if she disturbed her work to visit the restroom, it's not like she could find one.

She had been a part of Budehuc's community long enough that she had been left with no choice but to ask the veterans of the castle what to do when nature came calling. A simple set of criteria, eliminating based on age and gender to make the querying less awkward, led Little Viki to solicit the counsel of the commander of the guards, Cecile. Cecile's advice was succinct: "Find some place out of sight."

To put it simply, that was not the answer Viki wanted to receive. Being forced to relieve herself outdoors was already an uncomfortable proposition, but within the walls of a small property like Budehuc, home to over one hundred other people able to stumble across her? Out of the question. Up to now, she had been taking some drastic, unspeakable measures to relieve herself, in a new way every time to reduce the chance of being discovered. Problem was, there were only so many out of the way locations she could choose from, and being just a little panicked at the moment meant she was drawing a blank on where to pick this time. As Little Viki pondered, her wiggling continued.

Unfortunately, she had settled down in a bit of a focal point to fidget around, especially when someone was already looking right at her. Little Viki wasn't super subtle in her desperation, and Elder Viki picked up on it immediately. "Oh, that's what's bothering you. You need to g-"

"Yes, that's it," Little Viki interjected, rushing over, reaching up and covering Elder Viki's mouth. "There's no need to say it out loud, you realize."

Brushing Little Viki's hand off, Elder Viki's eyes widened as a thought occurred. "Oh, then maybe you can help me! I really need to start looking for a bathroom soon, but...well, I haven't found one yet. Do you have any tips or spots?"

It took a second for her to process the question, especially because it was coming from her bigger and ostensibly more mature self, but once she did, a light pink heat broke out on Little Viki's cheeks. "Y-you shouldn't be asking questions like that so nonchalantly."

"But..." Elder Viki extended her index finger and placed it on the edge of her lips, tilting her head in confusion. "How would I know if I don't ask?"

"There are some topics that really should be treated with decency, and anything involving bodily functions fall exactly into that category. You really should know this by now."

"Um, well..." If Elder Viki had a response, it wasn't coming to her. Like most coherent thoughts of hers.

Elder Viki became lost in thought, "lost" being the key word, abandoning Little Viki for a mental world all her own. Being the patient girl she was, Little Viki awaited the next sequence of the conversation, the hope that this discussion would be over soon perking up with every stutter Elder Viki elicited, feeling that optimism crash with each descent back into silent thought, a fall more disheartening with each successive loop. "If I don't end this soon, I'm going to run out of time. Hey, Viki!"

"Y-yes? What is it? Oh, hi there, Viki! When did you get here?"

Little Viki sighed in exasperation, realizing she'd get farther talking to a brick wall. "You don't have any insight to a toilet-related predicament, do you?"

"Oh! No, I'm sorry, I've never found the bathroom." Looking both ways first, Elder Viki bent forwards and whispered into her smaller counterpart's ear. "Actually, to tell the truth, I could really really use one right about now too."

"Well, if you can't help me, then I see little reason to stay." Little Viki pivoted back towards the main door, keeping her hands folded and pressed on the front of her clothes, slowly trotting outside while silently considering her options. "I may need to use the stable area today."

"Oh...um, okay. Bye-bye." Keeping her own legs pressed together, Elder Viki watched the girl exit. Even when she herself turned away, the reflection in her mirror propped up on her section of wall kept her informed. This mirror had no special properties by itself, but it was the conduit to the smaller Blinking Mirror, carried around by any entourage leaving the castle to give them the means to instantly return. Teleportation was certainly a handy tool.

For the second time today, possibly a new record, an excellent idea was birthed in Elder Viki's disorganized head. "Hey, other Viki! Come back here, I think I've got it!"

Little Viki almost kept going, paying her older doppelganger no mind. While it may have been a good idea by Elder Viki's standards, that was a low bar for the airhead to clear, and Little Viki didn't want to entertain it, lest she catch the stupidity. That was, until she felt a tightening in her bladder, growing fuller and fuller by the minute. Under the secrecy of her dress, she crossed her knees and twisted her ankles, a tiny squeal echoing in her closed mouth. Like it or not, she really had to pee, and she was on her way to do it in a place she really didn't want to. If she wanted any hope of reaching a location less potentially mortifying, trusting the bigger Viki was her only ticket. "Very well," Little Viki sighed, struggling to even walk straight as she closed the distance between the two. "What do you have in mind?"

"If there are no bathrooms here, then let's just teleport somewhere there is one!" With a big smile on her face, it was clear that Elder Viki was very proud of her epiphany.

But of course, while it may have been a new theory for Elder Viki, Little Viki had considered it ages ago, practically as soon as she couldn't find a restroom the first time. "Do you have a specific destination in mind? One where we'll find a toilet available for public usage?"

"No...but the world is a big place! I'm sure our chances are good!"

"So, you're leaving it up to luck? I've seen you playing Goppu upstairs a few times, how did fortune favor you then?"

"Um...I lost most of my potch. But I don't see how that's relevant! Come on, what do we have to lose?"

Little Viki could spend an hour detailing exactly all the ways this plan could go awry. They could waste too much time looking and wet themselves. They could teleport behind enemy lines and be caught. They could land somewhere swarming with dangerous monsters or unfriendly natives. If their intention changed to a private outdoor location, they could begin relieving themselves before properly scouting the unfamiliar terrain and subsequently be discovered, or expose their privates to plants with lingering effects. There were a lot of unknown variables at play.

However, there was also an undeniable fact all too evident: Viki had a lot of urine gathering in her bloated little bladder, and while she had no proof, she felt the same was true of her other self. Plus, if she didn't take the risk, she'd be relegated to doing her business somewhere on the public castle grounds, always worried of any potential intruders, and she knew she wouldn't like it. If she wanted to relieve herself in peace, her ditzy double was all she had. She just had to keep reminding herself of that as she grabbed Elder Viki's hand, notably removing it from her crotch and increasing the difficulty of her hold. "Very well. I'll place my faith in you, if only this once."

"Great! Us Vikis need to stick together!" Raising her Wow Wow Wand into the air, Elder Viki began channeling the power of the Blinking Rune on her right hand, and the two began to experience the trademark sensation of their surroundings fading away as they became less solid, time and space bent and their positions in the cosmos shifted.

That is, until the thick layer of dust coating everything in Budehuc Castle was kicked up by the magical force, and several particles floating up into both Vikis' nostrils. Little Viki simply rubbed her nose with her free hand, leaving the fate of her bladder to nothing more than willpower for a brief moment, but the Elder Viki face twitched as her inner orifice tingled. "Ah...ahhh...ACHOO!" Concentration in the spell was lost, a white twister of light spun around the two, and vague images of scenes across the world flashed by, one hundred a second. Thanks to Elder Viki's loss of focus, their crucial path would be determined by sheer luck.

\---------------

They weren't even standing when they reappeared, instead phasing in suspended a foot in the air, when gravity took its hold and brought them both slamming down onto the cobblestone pavement. Directly onto their stomachs, eliciting the same groan of pain from both. More silent, however, was the secondary reaction to such a delicate internal organ becoming squished between unmoving stone and the full weight of the girl it belonged to. Both Vikis clammed up as they felt a tiny squirt of warm pee shoot out. Suddenly, both were eager to jump upright and take the pressure off their bladders. Elder Viki climbed to her feet with one hand resting on her now-noticeable bladder bulge, while Little Viki rested on her shins, keeping both hands sitting a bit lower, with more pressure.

Only once they stood upright did they take the time to absorb their surroundings, a bustling town of stone and metal sitting on the expansive waterfront. As usual when she changed locations, Elder Viki was disoriented. "Er, where are we?"

"Vinay del Zexay, the capital city of the Zexen Confederacy and active trading port." At least Little Viki was on the ball.

"Oh, then that's perfect! See, look at all these people, surely one of them will let us use their toilet!" Scanning the busy surroundings, Elder Viki practically leapt for joy at one particular two-floor building so incredibly close. "Look, look, it's an inn! There has to be a toilet there!" Reaching back and taking the other's hand, she began strolling in the direction of the inn.

Little Viki, however, kept her feet planted and dragged her older self to a halt with friction, though getting pulled a couple inches first. "Hold on! Do you not consider it the slightest bit demeaning to be so outward with your bodily functions? There are plenty of onlookers, after all."

Elder Viki hadn't noticed, but now that it had been brought to her attention, she looked around once more, and discovered that Little Viki was telling the truth. They had crashed straight into Vinay del Zexay's marketplace, thankfully not on top of one of the wooden stalls, but their sudden appearance had turned them into quite the spectacle of the minute. Dozens of random strangers dropped whatever they were doing to stare holes through the Vikis. At the moment, it was unclear how much they had heard.

But Elder Viki wasn't too bothered by those circumstances. "Excuse me, everyone! Um, would any of you please lend us your toilet? Both of us need it really badly, so we would be gra-"

"Hey, watch what you're saying so openly!" Though she stopped the bigger girl from continuing, there was nothing Little Viki could do to take back what was already spoken. And those words were already having an effect on the populace. Those gathered wouldn't stop looking, pointing, giggling, and whispering to one another. A few of the murmurs were slightly louder than the crowd, leaving them audible. "How odd, falling from the sky and asking a question like that." "Must be some of those backwater Grasslanders. You know the unusual magic they have." "But why would two sisters show up here just to use the bathroom?" The Vikis were the women of the hour, all because of their bladders.

Little Viki was not a huge fan of attention regardless of the reason, but that didn't make context meaningless. The mere fact that it was such a private need acting as the focus was far outside her comfort zone, and she wasn't going to stand for it. Acting against her better judgment and once again removing both hands from her dress, she reached her left hand out and tightly gripped Elder Viki's hand, hard enough to hurt, while raising her own variation on Elder Viki's weapon, the tiny, glowing Wow Wand in her right hand, to the sky. "Enough! We're leaving!" Before Elder Viki even knew what was happening, a bright light flashed in their eyes, and they were blinked away, leaving the Zexens very confused.

\---------------

The blinding gleam persisted for a solid few seconds, and once it had dissipated, the Vikis had arrived in a dark, humid forest, a mossy shade seemingly hanging in the air and dyeing the surroundings green. There was another drop upon arrival, but only a few inches this time, and the landing was much softer, gentle enough that the impact was hardly noticeable. As such, neither felt the immediate need to stand up, and they remained seated on their rears.

Honestly, it wasn't so much the new scenery that was the priority, but the mere fact that it changed at all. "Viki," Elder Viki questioned, "why would you do that? We were getting somewhere, I'm sure of it!"

"Aren't you a girl too? Don't you find the idea of revealing the most private act a woman can do to be even a little embarrassing? That sort of thoughtless disclosure will follow you, follow me, forever."

"Well...I mean, I don't really like saying it either, but it's definitely a lot better than...wetting my pants," Elder Viki contested, with a somber tone of voice that hinted at anecdotes better left untold. Only then did she look away from Little Viki and really take in their surroundings. "Um, where are we now?"

"Kuput Forest, deep in the Grasslands, resting between the Duck Village and Chisha Village."

"Oh, then this works too! Look at all the trees and bushes, there's a bunch of places to squat! Or, actually, I guess we don't even need to hide if it's just the two of us...are you okay with going out in the op-"

"Wait a moment. Are you seriously willing to...do your thing here?"

"Hm? Well, I don't see a problem...oh, did you never learn how to go tinkle outside, Viki? I'll teach you if you need it-"

"I am perfectly capable of urinating outdoors, my objection lies with this specific position. Our white clothes would become irrevocably stained should they touch any of the flora or soil, to say nothing of the monsters lurking in the shadows."

Elder Viki's mind went blank, and she reached a hand up to repeatedly tap the side of her head, like she wanted to shake a thought loose. "Erm, then...but then...I'm confused, if you didn't want to go pee here, why did you bring us?"

Little Viki opened her mouth and prepared to lecture the logic behind her actions, but the words wouldn't come out. Because there were no words, no explanation. "I...I didn't pick Kuput Forest deliberately. I simply wanted to escape Vinay del Zexay, however possible." For the first time, Little Viki was flustered.

Luckily, Elder Viki didn't pick up on that being an unusual or irregular state of mind for her younger equivalent, being a lifelong resident of disarray herself. "So where do you want to go?"

Looking down at the dirt, Little Viki clenched her hands tighter and lazily kicked a foot back and forth. "I...I would very much prefer to use a civilized toilet, without making a scene of it."

Smiling, though with a certain hidden strain as she kept one hand between her legs, Viki held her Wow Wow Wand aloft, channeling magical power. "Well, I know the place. Erm, at least, I think it's the place I'm thinking of...or was it?"

As Elder Viki tried to think, Little Viki grew more and more frustrated with the time being wasted, dancing in place as a tormented grimace grew on her face. That is, until a roar blared out from behind the thick treeline, loud and growling. One didn't need to be a monster expert to guess it was dangerous. Cue a spurt of urine from both. "I don't care what place you're thinking of, anywhere other than here!"

"Right! Grab on!" Little Viki did not need to be told twice, she reached up and grabbed the elbow of the other Viki's holding arm. Their environment twisted and faded into nonexistence, and their coordinates drastically shifted once more.

\---------------

Once they were able to see again, it almost looked like they had returned to Vinay del Zexay. The stone style of construction was nearly identical, though the singular building standing at the edge of the bridge they had appeared on was much larger and better fortified than anything in the Zexen capital. And said bridge was suspended over a wide moat of tumultuous waters, the last thing either girl wanted to even think about. Before Elder Viki could even ask, Little Viki filled her in. "Brass Castle, the primary fortress protecting the Zexen border from the Grasslands."

"So, they'll have a bathroom we can use?"

"One would assume, with the traders that pass through, they have restrooms open to the pub-hngh!" She had been doing an admirable job staying outwardly strong, but at some point, Little Viki just had to buckle under the strain and demand of her bladder, having just made a strong push in a serious attempt to flush itself empty.

No words said, no thoughts in her head, Little Viki just had to bury her hands further between her legs, the tip of her Wow Wand sticking out from behind like a tail, clenching her crotch through her dress and rubbing her knees together. Even that wasn't enough to satiate her bursting contents, and she had to double her efforts by closing her eyes and tensing every muscle in her body, squeezing her fingers tight enough to hurt. And that push succeeded. In that she only leaked a significant amount instead of full-out soaking herself. She was afraid to think what her white panties must look like now.

And seeing such a violent and visceral depiction of a girl dying to pee was not pleasant for the observing Viki. Not just because of sympathy, but the knowledge and sensation that she was in just as bad a state. She had been suffering plenty all on her own, but now? Now it was infinitely worse with stimulation. Elder Viki started shaking while her left hand, also gripping her privates, tightened to white-knuckle levels, and she leaked a spurt of tinkle as well, feeling the tiny drip snake down her inner thigh. What a time to be wearing her one outfit with a pure white bottom half.

Elder Viki was not the only one with that worry, either. Taking a gamble once she had stabilized, Little Viki carefully unclasped her hands and moved them into the open air, looking downwards with fear in her eyes. "...there doesn't appear to be a visible stain." Breathing a sigh of relief, while keeping in mind that full relief was still out of reach, Little Viki promptly began holding herself with all her might once more.

Elder Viki continued with the same force, as well. "Will you be alright here, Viki? Because I think I'll need to stop regardless..."

"Yes, I think 'beggars can't be choosers' applies strongly now." With rigid movements and frequent pauses, the Vikis crossed the bridge through the Brass Castle's walls.

\---------------

Little Viki slammed her hands on the table. "What do you mean we can't use your bathrooms?"

"Exactly as I said," the knight sitting behind said table explained, having no reaction on his blank expression to the loud outburst from a child. "With the rising tensions between Zexen and the Grasslands, we must be on high alert for attacks at all times. Because of this, we cannot let anyone into the deeper parts of our fortress without proper authorization."

Frankly, it was ridiculous that the Vikis even had to argue their case. One look at them was enough to see that there was nothing to hide, they really were just two girls filled to the brim with pee. They were both shaking, chests heaving, hands jammed between their thighs and quivering, faces red and hot, sweat dripping down their foreheads, practically crying in pain of their respective bladders almost bursting open. Though Little Viki, despite her usual stoicism, was faring markedly worse.

That left Elder Viki as the only one capable of doing any convincing. "Could you please make an exception, just for us? I'll...um, what was it again? I'll make it...worth your while, I think? And then I puff out my chest and show my leg, I believe...oh, but you probably don't want to see my leg right now." Even if she remembered the correct technique, Viki was not a seductress by nature.

Whether he was offended by the failure, or he had iron principles, the knight immediately went up a level in frustration. "Alright, if you're going to try and bribe me, then you can leave right now! Or would you rather I have someone escort you out?"

Little Viki pouted as she lost her patience. "Never mind! Let's just go back to Budehuc! I'll figure something out there!" Without even bothering to properly remove her hand from down south, she focused what little power she had to spare into her Wow Wand, flashing away once again. Elder Viki only just grabbed on at the last second to avoid being left behind.

\---------------

Next stop was a series of dark caves. "Um, I don't remember going into Budehuc's basement, but this doesn't feel right..." Still, Elder Viki wanted to consider that they might have actually returned home, with the knowledge that she could very easily just be mistaken.

"No, I've been down to read in the Budehuc basement, and this isn't it. But...I can't think of where it is right now..." It was hard to blame Little Viki for being a little scatterbrained at the moment.

"So...why are we here?"

"I don't know! I can't think straight enough to properly teleport! I can't believe it, I'm turning into you..."

The confusion was cleared up rather quickly, when a horde of Lizard Clan soldiers rushed in their direction, brandishing halberds. "Intruders! No doubt come to assassinate another chief!"

Now Little Viki had it. "Great Hollow! Great Hollow!" Once again, a shot of warmth spread in the bottoms of both Vikis, and the younger of the two locked up from both fear and the crazy level of effort needed to hold on after a leak of that size.

That left Elder Viki as the only capable rune master, and the Wow Wow Wand was raised in a flash. "Budehuc! Budehuc!" In the blink of an eye, they were gone, just as quickly as they had arrived.

\---------------

When they reappeared in the corporeal world...well, they were certainly back at Budehuc. In the baths. The men's baths. The occupied men's baths, populated by Geddoe, Joker, Ace, and Jacques. All sitting nude, of course, with nothing in the water to hide what laid beneath its surface. If anything could get Little Viki to remove a hand from her crotch at this point, it was this very sight. "Gah, can't look, can't look," she screamed, covering her innocent eyes with her inner elbow.

Elder Viki wasn't quite so flustered at the sight, for reasons beyond her age. "Oh, not again..."

"We need to get out!" Little Viki thrust her Wow Wand outwards, and the baths were suddenly short two intruders.

The men of Geddoe's unit hardly had time to react to their uninvited guests before all was silent again, but once the moment had calmed, Ace had a comment to make. "Normally, I'd appreciate a beautiful woman joining me in the bath, but that one isn't quite at the top of my list."

\---------------

Next, the two appeared in a dingy village in what looked like a swamp, drawing the attention of the winged residents. "Hey, I think I know them," Elder Viki exclaimed.

"Wingers...you brought us to Dunan!"

"Oh, did I? That's not good."

"No, it's not! I'm losing it..." Little Viki's dancing started moving twice as fast, and she squeezed everything as hard as she could, slightly wringing the dampness from her panties out and into her dress fabric, all the while grunting and squeaking in the stress. A tear soon rolled down her cheek.

It was possibly the most pitiable sight Elder Viki had ever seen, but she couldn't be sure when she couldn't clearly remember breakfast today. Regardless, she was determined to make sure neither of them wet themselves today, and she was the only one with the capacity to make that happen. Nudging in close to the younger girl, because she sure couldn't afford to spare a hand to properly grab her, Elder Viki channeled her Blinking Rune, the last of her energy to be so recklessly spent, and whisked the two away.

\---------------

The firm blades of tall grass and wheat sprouts scratched against the cloth of their respective dress and robe as they waved in the wind, with nothing but the breeze whistling through to provide a semblance of noise in the sunset yellow field. A large windmill spinning in the distance gave clue to their location, in a way that even Elder Viki couldn't mistake it. Being so close to Budehuc certainly helped. "Iksay Village! I think that's good!"

"It...it would be, but the field is t-too open...we don't know if there's anything l-lurking..." While it was a legitimate point, it looks like it hurt Little Viki to even object at a time like this, as if she wasn't already in enough pain.

Elder Viki simply wasn't delaying her bodily needs. "Well, it's your choice, but I gotta go!" She had done an admirable job accommodating her other half, but her bladder had long since struck its limits, and the middle of a field with tons of plants to hide behind was as good as a nice, clean toilet in her eyes.

Little Viki really wanted to wait, hold out until she could make it to a bathroom in Iksay, just as a woman's pride dictated. But no amount of femininity could change the very real fact that she was already extremely wet, and seconds away from becoming downright soaked from the waist down, with evidently no one but her older self watching. There was only one singular way to save herself now, and if that was the case, then she'd gladly take it. "I'll do it! I have to do it!" After all, despite her unusual origins and personality, Little Viki was only human.

However, even resolved to relieve themselves, there was still one final, major obstacle standing between the Vikis and their flowing urine: clothing. This may have seemed obvious, they needed to undress to safely pee, but it was a bit more than that. With the long, hanging skirts of their outfits, the hems resting close to their ankles, pulling them up to expose their privates would be challenging, especially when time was so crucial and spirit so depleted.

With no communication, the two settled on the same solution: pulling at their skirts like feral animals and yanking the garment upwards with as much as a single grab could take, until they could hold the hems and lift them to their stomachs. Hers being a bit lighter, Little Viki finished first, and she quickly moved onto the next step of keeping hold of the mound of crumpled white fabric with her elbows while somehow simultaneously removing the one final piece standing between herself and this direly needed pee.

Bending forward, knees slammed together, she slid one hand down the front of her underwear to hold her girlhood while using the other to grab the front of the panties and shove them down. And not a second too soon. It was already hard to tell they were supposed to be white, with the dirty yellow spread all across the crotch, halfway up the front, and mostly covering the butt. And her bladder was determined to stain them more, it seemed, as a heavy spurt shot out and surged between her trembling fingers, the many drops falling into and shaking the panties fallen down her thighs. "Ah! Can't...hold...can't hold it!" Shifting her balance towards her back end, she dropped down into a squat, pulling her wet hand away to gingerly hold her dress out of harm's way with her thumb and index finger, and spread her legs, stretching her underwear out and freeing more drops from their threaded confines.

At the same time, Elder Viki wasn't having the same level of trouble. With her thighs pressed together and keeping her peehole steady for the time being, she could devote both hands to her robe's length, cradling the mass near her stomach with her forearms. As was now visible, Elder Viki had nothing beneath her robe to wet, though shiny beads of urine were clearly stuck to her thighs, leaving her nothing to do but squat with a clear, airy path from her privates. As she spread her knees, she bumped into her little partner's, an unfortunate side effect of needing to touch each other to teleport and not having the strength to move apart once they had. This tinkle break was not going to be modest.

They had no time to adjust, either. At roughly the same time, a hissing noise emanated from both their unmentionable areas while a thick yellow gush jetted out, spraying tiny drops outwards at both the origin and impact points as they crashed into the soft dirt beneath their feet, rapidly overloading the soil's absorbent capabilities and backing up into a foamy puddle. The two pools quickly merged into one, the warm water rippling with relatively tall waves under the force of the deafening splash of two torrential pees.

Early on, Little Viki was apprehensive. Here she was, half nude on the worst half, performing one of the two most secretive acts a woman could do, directly in plain view of her older self. She could practically die of embarrassment at the mere thought, so actually going through with such an uncouth solution was sickening. Her face was already red from the sheer strain of waiting until now, but now she was humiliated so thoroughly that the color was sure to stick. She couldn't stop shaking and her throat spasmed in a way that looked like she could break out crying at any moment.

But, in the same place, Elder Viki was just having a good time. How could she not, getting to go pee after very nearly bursting, having hardly wet herself and in a place where only a fellow girl could bear witness to her actions. And doing so felt just so pleasant, absolute bliss coursing through her blood as pounding pressure flooded from her nethers, leaving nothing but that empty elation behind. Drool peeked out from her mouth and rested on her chin as her eyes rolled upwards. "Ooooohhhhh, hhhaaaaahhhhh..."

It wasn't her proudest moment, but so determined to ignore her own golden rapids, Little Viki had no other powerful enough distractions beyond Elder Viki's handiwork. Because, yes, it was powerful. Just as powerful as her own, in fact, while she herself was already falling off the edge of wetting herself. Even discounting her mental...lacking, Elder Viki should have, by all respects, had the same reservations that her younger self did.

Yet she didn't. Quite the contrary, Elder Viki looked as happy as could be, in a way that turned the tables and left Little Viki dumbfounded. How could she be so immodest? How could she be so carefree? Countless factors could turn against them at any moment, and even if they didn't, this was still the lowest of the low to resort to, even in an emergency. Little Viki would be ashamed of this for the rest of her life, yet Elder Viki seemed to lack any sense of context, any understanding why this was bad. Ignorance is bliss, it seemed.

But, when it came down to it, that meant that Elder Viki was happy and Little Viki was not. That's how it always seemed, the older magician could just keep going with a smile on her face no matter how flighty and inattentive her seemingly empty head made her. Little Viki still had no desire to grow into everything being her bigger self entailed, but Elder Viki was still friendly, played an active role in the resistances she was swept up in, and remained respected to a certain degree. And she was unconstrained by worries of decency.

Truthfully, it wasn't just anxiety that kept Little Viki's spirits damper than her panties, but the sensation of actually going. Yes, she was absolutely bursting, but that didn't excuse just how uncomfortable peeing was now. The warm urine shot through her urethra with a mighty force, leaving a stinging behind in every sensitive area it passed through. And her bladder still felt bloated, like it was continuing to hold all that liquid rippling across the ground before her, with the only explanation being how tense she remained.

"Just...relax, Viki. That has to be the secret, or...something of the sort." Little Viki closed her eyes and took a sharp inhale through the nose, holding the oxygen in her lungs for several seconds, before gently releasing the breath through gently-pursed lips. She looped this process, and with each cycle, her muscles gave slack and her pee spurted a single spray of extra power, unpleasant thoughts being pushed from her mind.

This repeated approximately a half-dozen times, but as time passed, whether it was a natural reaction or the result of her meditation, the pee began to feel pretty good. She really needed to go, after all, it only made sense that her bladder deflating would be somewhat pleasant. Her neck went limp and her head flopped to the side as she just let nature run its course. "Oooohhhhh...."

Still going quite strong herself, Elder Viki only barely heard that sigh of relief from her younger double. "Yeah, it feels really good, doesn't it?"

Little Viki's response was short, sweet, and said all it needed to. "Haaahhhhh..." Truly, there was nothing more that needed to be expressed, they were relieving themselves and it was all relief. The air itself seemed to heat up in the proximity of their warm urine combining in a rising puddle, endlessly peppered with trickles and splashes, all the telltale signs that this was a much-needed bathroom break, and very relaxing at that. Well, all aside from the rising scent. That, both Vikis could do without.

It was not to last, however. With no mental barriers that needed conquering, and not quite at a bursting level, Elder Viki began sputtering to a stop first, though this didn't exactly mean she was finished quite yet. The torrent diminished in force, while continuing onwards with respectable, typical power for several seconds. This persisted until there were no further reserves to be released, and Elder Viki's privates soon only produced a drizzle of drops sticking to the folds down below.

Somewhere around this point, Little Viki's distended bladder had shrunken wildly down without a massive quantity of urine inflating it. Her impressive, wide-reaching spray died down soon into a narrow shower still well beyond what many girls her age or size could comfortably produce. "Hah....haaahhh..." And reaching the climax was pushing Little Viki to her limits of a different kind, as she could hardly stop moaning long enough to pant over and over again.

Finally, at long last, she finished. A small squirt of a hidden reserve followed, but was hardly more than a drop in the yellow ocean still resting on the soil's surface, and then there was nothing left to give. For a good while afterwards, Little Viki stayed in place with her shivering squat, eyes unfocused, chest heaving with deep breaths as her lower regions air dried.

Because she was unresponsive, Elder Viki became the first to express a closing thought, still squatting and nude from the waist-down. "Phew! I can't remember the last time I had to go that bad!"

It took a few more gasps before Little Viki could respond with some modicum of coherence. "That's...that's no surprise. But yes, I can safely say I've never held off using the restroom that long either."

"It's not so bad peeing outside, is it?"

"As I said before, I'm perfectly able to relieve myself outdoors, I simply greatly prefer not to."

"But this was an emergency, wasn't it?"

Little Viki nodded, and as her gaze subsequently drifted downwards, she looked straight into her older self's girlhood. Her eyes widened before quickly forcing shut. "T-this is hardly the time to have a conversation! Redress yourself!"

"Oh! Right, I didn't realize I still had nothing on!" Pushing herself up into standing, Elder Viki let her robe fall, the hem hanging a mere inch above the massive urine pond, with even less of a gap to some of the more prominent floating bubbles. Totally presentable once more, she smiled brightly...until she felt a drop of tepid pee snake down her thigh. "Oops, I forgot to wipe. Um, do you need me to find something for you, Viki?"

There was no need, as Little Viki was already on her feet and already had her drenched panties in her grip, pulling them up with a disgusted grimace. "There's no point, I'd just get wet again immediately afterwards." Defeated, she let go and allowed gravity to take her dress to her ankles.

"Oh, I suppose that's right. Um, I'm sorry I can't offer you anything about that."

"No, you couldn't. Though, I'd like to ask a question on that topic, actually: why don't you have any undergarments on?"

"Er...oh, that's right! It's a funny story, actually, I teleported myself once, and my underwear didn't come with me. I never found them, so I still don't have any. I really don't mind, it's kinda nice to be free."

"Okay, too much information! I just want to get back to Budehuc and soak in a bath. The women's bath this time!"

"Yeah, I could use a bath myself. So, what about next time? Is there someplace you'd feel more comfortable going tinkle?"

"Next time? No! I'll figure something out at Budehuc, I never want to repeat today's humiliating events again!" Little Viki's tone and volume dropped, as her next sentence exited as little more than a whisper. "Though, I suppose Budehuc is just as prone to failure..."

Regardless, Elder Viki continued with her usual jauntiness. "Um, I'm sorry it didn't really work out this time, but we've learned, haven't we? I'm sure it'll be better next ti-"

"Listen," Little Viki interrupted, "I'm truly grateful that you went so far out of your way to help me. But all it did was embarrass me and cause me to come as close as humanly possible to having an accident without actually doing so. It would be better for all if I simply continued my current strategy of finding new locations at the castle." It was hard to be positive with the ever-cooling pee sticking to her butt and more private areas.

"Hmmm..." If these kinds of excursions were not acceptable, Elder Viki needed to remember what her fallback was. "Have you been going in the lake?"

"What?! No, of course I haven't! We use that water for cooking, drinking, bathing, laundry, we can't simply taint it with our bodily fluids!" At first, it was a look of disgust at even being suggested such a filthy solution, but Little Viki soon adopted a look of horror as she realized exactly why that was the location that came to her bigger self's mind first. "You've been urinating in the lake, haven't you?"

"Well, yes. It's a big lake, I'm sure my pee isn't doing that much. Besides, it's water, a toilet uses water, it just feels right."

All of a sudden, Little Viki began rethinking that bath plan. And the idea of drinking any water from that lake. But she couldn't exactly go around cautioning everyone that Viki was polluting the water, because with over a hundred Stars of Destiny to spread the rumor, it was just a matter of time before the warning was perverted into being Little Viki's fault.

No, she had to fix this herself, by fixing herself. "If you're going to continue to act this way, then I have no choice. I wanted to avoid unnecessary disturbances in the timestream, but if it will protect our present allies, then I know the location of the women's restroom in Toran Castle."

"Oh, that's good! I don't think I could ever find that bathroom, you know, and because it was in the middle of the lake..."

"I get the picture. If you agree, I'll find you next time the need arises, and you can better acquaint yourself with a proper receptacle. I'd also like to have that option available once more." Little Viki stepped forward to complete the agreement with a handshake, but as soon as one foot extended before the other, she experienced the sickening sensation of her panties peeling free from their pee adhesive, quickly sticking to her skin in a slightly different position. She didn't want to make any unnecessary movements.

Elder Viki understood fast enough, and took the initiative herself to close the minimal distance, putting a hand on Little Viki's shoulder and using her other to lift her Wow Wow Wand, with an expectant eye. "How about that bath first?"

Little Viki wanted to object, knowing that the water would not be as clean as necessary for a task such as bathing. Until she heard the subtle squish of her underwear shifting once more. She'd be soaking in urine regardless, better the diluted quantity than the localized one actively causing her distress. "Yes, I think that's a necessity."

With a usual smile, Elder Viki activated her Blinking Rune, and the two returned to home base. Little Viki wanted to forget what had transpired today, and Elder Viki probably would, unintentionally. Either way, both agreed: it could have gone worse.

\---------------

True to her word, Little Viki had brought the two to Toran Castle, where they blended right in with the growing Liberation Army residing in the tower, and had quickly reached the restroom. And had joined the long line of girls in various stages of desperation. Now that Camille had thrown up her arms in frustration and left, muttering something about "finding literally anywhere else", every single member of the queue was doing a potty dance in some capacity. Kasumi, Tengaar, Lorelai, every one of them could wet themselves at a moment's notice.

At the front, Cleo began frantically knocking on the wooden door, with one hand buried under her skirt. "Whoever is in there, could you please leave? There's a line of women out here that really need to use the bathroom!"

From inside the small closet, the voice of the young Meg shouted out. "I'm sorry, but I really can't come out right now! I need to clean up my clot- I mean, I just need more time!"

Everyone waiting groaned in disbelief, and that included the Vikis towards the back. "This feels really familiar for some reason," Elder Viki remarked.

"Records say the Liberation Army shouldn't have been this big at this date. What a time for the books to be incorrect," Little Viki lamented, squeezing her fingers tighter around the portion of dress currently being pressed against her crotch. Soon enough, she squirmed and squealed as a spurt of pee dripped into her panties.

All the way at the back, a Viki just a bit younger than Elder Viki began rubbing her knees together, both hands holding herself with everything she had, feeling her control slip away. "What? Oh! Oh!"


End file.
